


Vanitas Makes a New Friend

by The_Unlimited



Series: Vanitas' journey through light [6]
Category: Kingdom Hearts, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Add in of a new character, F/M, OC Vanitas, Still don't know what the hell I'm doing, slight MCU crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 110,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23330056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Unlimited/pseuds/The_Unlimited
Summary: With the problem with the Dark World solved, Vanitas moves on to meet Roxas and his friends, Axel, and Xion. While it starts out as an attempt to get closer to figuring out the truth about the Organization, like with Sora, it can't help but grow into a friendship. Which only makes things that much harder when he figures out the truth about the harm Roxas and Xion's extended existences is causing. And even much harder when he figures out the Organization's plans for Xion, especially when it's painfully obvious how much she and Roxas care for each other. Maybe in a way greater than they could ever understand
Relationships: Axel & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Mentions of Roxas/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas & Sea Salt Trio, Vanitas & Tony Stark & Bruce Banner
Series: Vanitas' journey through light [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1246529
Comments: 55
Kudos: 26





	1. Reunions

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, huge thank you to Everglow's Timeline because it's especially gonna help me during this portion of the series

Roxas sighed out as he stood in his battle stance in the Back Alley of Twilight Town. This latest mission required him to take out Heartless in Twilight Town... alone. Just as he had been for quite a while now.

Axel was all but confirmed eliminated at this point, as he had been missing for about three weeks. And besides that, Xion hadn't shown up to the clock tower or at the Castle in a matter of days. Both of his friends were missing, leaving him utterly alone. Even though he knew that as a Nobody, he couldn't feel emotions, he was sure what he was feeling now was sadness.

He pushed it aside as he faced the Heartless, two designed like living hammers, and one a living biplane. Roxas ran to the Hammer behind him and used two combo attacks, dodging a shockwave attack from the other Hammer, and the Biplane shooting at him. He then used an aerial combo with three attack finishers on the Biplane, knocking it back. He used another one immediately, destroying the Biplane.

Roxas moved on to the Hammers, using a combo on one, but using Reflect in time to block the shockwave from the other one. The attack hitting Reflect caused the shield to break with small explosions around it, damaging the two Hammers. Roxas then pressed the attack and finished off the Hammers with a few more combos.

A red Large Body appeared in the alleyway, so Roxas lured it further in. He blocked its attack, confusing it, before getting behind it and attacking with a combo attack. Using the finisher knocked it into the air, giving him the opportunity to use an extra slash. He kept up the attacks, using combos and the extra slashes to take out the big Heartless completely, not even giving it another chance to attack him.

Satisfied with a mission complete, Roxas stood up out of his battle stance and dismissed his Keyblade.

"Hey, Roxas!" a familiar voice behind him called out.

Roxas turned around with surprise to see Axel walking towards him.

"It's been a while," Axel remarked, smile on his face. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

He wasn't wrong. Roxas could only stare in surprise and shock, wide eyed as Axel stopped in front of him. It was all but confirmed to him that Axel was gone, and he would never see him again.

"Axel..." Roxas sighed out in surprise as Axel stopped in front of him. "I heard everyone at Castle Oblivion was annihilated..."

"Not me," Axel pointed out, raising an arm with his other on his hip to emphasize his point. "I'm tough. And... I might have had a little help."

Roxas gasped as a Hammer appeared right over Axel. Before he could summon his Keyblade, though, a gunshot rang out. Roxas and Axel both looked behind the latter to see the Hammer fall to the ground, where it disappeared in the usual flash of light. They both looked up in surprise, Axel in happiness and Roxas in shock, to see a familiar scarred faced ravenette in a tattered blue outfit lowering a hunting rifle from his face.

"Speak of the devil," Axel exclaimed, gesturing to Vanitas and raising his hand to emphasize his point. "Roxas, I'd like you to meet the guy who saved my life back in Castle Oblivion, Vanitas."

Vanitas put his rifle into his sling, and held out a hand to Roxas.

"Uh, nice to meet you, Roxas," Vanitas said a little awkwardly as Roxas took his hand. "Axel talked about you a lot in Castle Oblivion. If I wasn't ninety percent sure he was asexual, I'd guess he was secretly in love with you."

Roxas chuckled at that a bit, while Axel glared at him.

"I don't even know what most of that meant," Roxas admitted while laughing.

"Hilarious," Axel commented, slightly annoyed.

"I thought so," Vanitas remarked, smile on his face.

"Anyway," Axel said through gritted teeth. "Vanitas can kind of relate to us. His life force was taken from him, so he can't feel anything."

Roxas looked at Vanitas, eyes wide.

"Are you a Nobody, too?" he asked.

"Not that I know of," Vanitas remarked. "And do you really call yourselves that? That's not very nice."

"That's what I said!" Roxas excitedly exclaimed, pointing at Vanitas.

"Great minds think alike," Axel commented.

Roxas turned towards his taller friend.

"That doesn't excuse you, though," he remarked. "You had me worried when you didn't come back."

"Worry?" Axel asked, slight smile on his face. "We Nobodies don't have the hearts to worry, you know!"

Roxas looked at him in thought for a second before smiling.

"I'll go buy us some ice cream!" he announced. He looked at Vanitas. "I'll get you one, too!"

He ran past Vanitas and into the Sandlot, on his way to the Marketplace. Both pyrotechnics dropped the happy personas once he was out of earshot.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Axel asked.

"I'm here to figure out more about you 'Nobodies' and this Organization," Vanitas told him.

"Okay, easy questions," Axel admitted, raising his hands to emphasize his point. "As you've probably figured out, a Nobody is born when someone loses their heart, just like the Heartless. But when someone loses their heart, an empty shell is left behind: their body. That body becomes a Nobody, usually a warrior in white."

"So..." Vanitas said in thought. "The hearts become Heartless, and the bodies become Nobodies?"

"Exactly," Axel confirmed.

"But then why aren't the Heartless called Nobodies and the Nobodies called Heartless?" Vanitas asked, confusion on his face.

Axel looked to the side in thought, just realizing that himself.

"You know, I have no idea," Axel admitted. He shook his head. "Anyway, when someone with a strong enough heart loses their heart, like Xehanort or Sora, their Nobody takes the shape of their previous selves. I look like my human self, Lea. A guy in our crew named Saïx looks like my old friend, Isa..."

"Xigbar looks just like Braig," Vanitas added.

Axel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at that for a second. Before he remembered...

"Oh, yeah!" Axel exclaimed, pointing at Vanitas. "You were one of the apprentices to Ansem the Wise."

"After I lost my life force and my memories," Vanitas remarked.

"But you never became a Nobody," Axel assessed.

"I had the brains to run, other than those other dumbasses," Vanitas remarked. He raised an eyebrow. "Wait, if the Nobodies look exactly like their Somebodies did, then why does Roxas look just like my friend, Ven?"

"Wait, Ventus?" Axel asked. "You knew him?"

" _You_ knew him?" Vanitas asked.

"Long story," Axel admitted.

"He and I trained under the same Keyblade Master," Vanitas informed him.

"He had a Keyblade?" Axel asked, surprised.

"I'm pretty sure," Vanitas said, arms crossed in thought. "I still don't remember everything, but I at least remember that part. But really, if he's Sora's Nobody, then why does he look like Ven?"

"That," Axel remarked. "I'll admit, I still don't know."

"Figures," Vanitas muttered. "But your boss, I'm guessing he's Xehanort's Nobody?"

"Yep," Axel confirmed. "His name's Xemnas. X-E-M-N-A-S."

Vanitas smirked.

"You know, it could have very easily been Mansex by accident," he remarked.

The two leaned forwards while laughing heartily, doing so for a few seconds.

"Well, anyway," Axel breathed out as they straightened up. "Any other reason you're here?"

"My trio of partners are out of commission while Naminé is fixing their memories," Vanitas explained. "I figure while they do that, I do my best to try to see if Mansex is gonna be a threat."

"Fair point," Axel admitted. "The only reason I do anything for them is usually because I'm under threat of being turned into a Dusk. I'll explain later." He added the last bit to Vanitas' confused face.

"Good to know," Vanitas remarked. "And I will admit, I was only originally looking for you in hopes you would help me. But..."

He looked back to where Roxas had run off, nostalgia on his face.

"Like I said, he looks just like Ven," Vanitas admitted. He looked up at Axel. "And I'm just now realizing how much I've missed that lovable goofball."

"What happened to him?" Axel asked, sympathetically.

"I don't remember," Vanitas admitted, his voice cracking a bit. "I just know I haven't seen him in ten years. And... I know Roxas isn't him, but..."

Axel placed his a hand on Vanitas' shoulder in sympathy. Vanitas looked up to see the smiling face of Axel.

"How'd you get here?" Axel asked.

"Some... crackpot gave me this vortex manipulator," Vanitas explained, raising his left wrist.

"Then you'll be able to assist us," Axel told him.

* * *

Once Roxas returned, they took Vanitas to their spot on top of the clock tower, and Vanitas had to marvel at how beautiful the sunset looked from this distance. They also shared with him their favorite Sea Salt Ice Cream, even though he admitted his taste buds couldn't work.

"Just humor us," Axel insisted as they gave him the bar.

Vanitas stood behind them as they sat over the ledge, letting their legs hang. He took a bite out of the bar, a little disappointed he couldn't taste anything due to their excitement over him trying it.

"It's salty, but sweet," Roxas informed him.

"I'll take your word for it," Vanitas said as he took another bite.

"Vanitas is here because he's offered to take a position with us," Axel informed Roxas.

"He did?" Roxas asked.

"I did?" Vanitas asked. At Axel's face, he amended, "I mean... I did!"

"Since you don't really like doing missions alone, he's offered to help you out on them," Axel informed Roxas. "He has a teleporter, and he can fight pretty well. Saved my behind a few times, and I'm sure he's willing to extend the offer to you. I mean, it's no big deal, just fighting a few Heartless in various other worlds."

"Oh, yeah, I can do that," Vanitas remarked. "I got no problem helping you out during that."

"Well, the backup would be nice," Roxas admitted.

"But there's one other thing," Axel pointed out. "He and the bosses... don't really get along. They can't really know that he's helping you, or that he knows you at all."

"Why not?" Roxas asked.

"Cause if they found out that he was around, they might overreact and try to kill him," Axel admitted. "And we can't have that. We like Vanitas, and Vanitas likes us. Am I right?"

He smiled at the two, expectantly.

"He is nice," Roxas agreed. "I appreciate the help, and look forward to getting to know you better, Vanitas."

Vanitas smiled at the boy.

"You guys can call me V," he informed the two.

"Happy to do so," Axel remarked.

The three looked out towards the sunset, mesmerized by its beauty as they ate their ice cream.

"I gotta check in with the boss, or he's gonna let me have it," Axel admitted.

"You haven't reported back yet?" Roxas asked, looking over at his friend.

"Hm?" Axel asked. "No."

"From the sounds of your boss, I'm not surprised," Vanitas remarked.

"Why'd you come here?" Roxas asked.

"I guess I just needed a little time to sort out my feelings, you know?" Axel answered.

"I thought you didn't have a heart," Roxas pointed out, smile on his face.

Axel looked at him, and the three started laughing.

"Hey, your ice cream's melting," Axel informed him. "Eat up."

"Gotta focus on the essentials," Vanitas commented, smile on his face.

Roxas chuckled and took another bite.

"You know," he informed Axel. "I started inviting Xion up here while you were gone."

"Xion?" Axel asked.

"I made her a promise that the three... well, now four, of us could have ice cream when you got back," Roxas told him, smiling.

 _Those two are gonna kiss_ , Vanitas thought, smile on his face.

"Xion..." Roxas said in thought as he looked out at the sunset. "...She's my friend, too."

 _I hope these two have separate rooms_ , Vanitas thought, which Axel heard.

 _We all have separate rooms in the castle_ , Axel thought, which Vanitas heard.

"So, V," Roxas said, turning to look at the ravenette. "Is there anywhere you're staying while you're gonna help me?"

"Yeah, I've got a place lined up," Vanitas informed them. "A friend offered me a place to crash, and I'm gonna take him up on his offer."

"But I'm curious," Roxas admitted. "How are you gonna know where the missions we do will take us?"

"Don't worry," Vanitas said, cryptically as he winked at his new friend. "I'll know."

* * *

Tony Stark walked into the common area of Avengers Tower, sighing out after a long day of work. He had to assist on some of the clean up duty left behind in England, then offered Foster, Selvig, and the rest of their team their positions with Stark Industries to continue their work. Dr. Selvig decided against it, and Foster was still pondering it.

After they got that process out of the way, he joined Bruce in the lab, trying to see if they could adjust their mechanics to give people better prosthetics. It didn't go too well, and Bruce had to stop himself from becoming the Other Guy when a robotic arm punched him in the groin.

Tony had just reached the bar and poured himself a drink of Scotch. He took a sip, but then paused when he heard a slight rustle nearby.

"JARVIS," Tony called out. "Do we have a security breach?"

"A slight one, sir," JARVIS's mechanical, British voice informed him. "It seems as if someone teleported into the tower. I'll do a scan to figure out who it is."

There was then the sound of something hitting something else. Then, a familiar, slightly quiet voice exclaimed, "Aw, fuck!"

"No need," Tony informed him, walking out of the bar. "I already know who it is."

He walked through the room and turned on some more lights. That revealed Vanitas Jordan standing there, looking a little surprised as he stood over a knocked over chair. Vanitas looked up apologetically at Tony, then put the chair back in its place.

"Sorry," Vanitas informed him. "I just appeared here, and I don't really know my way around."

"Makes sense," Tony admitted. "Since the last time you were here, it was falling apart, and we were facing a crazy god. Who, according to Thor, was actually a pretty decent guy."

"Yeah, I was there," Vanitas informed him. "It actually made it me pretty sad when he died. Poor Reindeer Games."

Tony chuckled at the nickname he remembered he gave Loki.

"So what are you doing here, V?" he asked. "Where's Kid Keyslinger, the Mallard Magician, and Captain Canine?"

"Hey, those were pretty good," Vanitas commented.

"Thank you," Tony said, smile on his face.

"Well," Vanitas said. "They're sort of... in comas, to say the least. They had their memories altered, and the only way to fix them is for them to sleep. And there's another mission I'm following, but it's gonna take a while. Then I remembered your offer to let me stay here, and... I was hoping..."

"Say no more," Tony assured him, waving with his left hand. "I've already set up rooms for all of the Avengers for the future. Come on, I'll show you to yours."

Vanitas walked next to him, and Tony placed his arm around the ravenette's shoulders.

"On the way, you can explain to me this assignment," Tony informed him.

"After you tell me where your Arc Reactor is," Vanitas remarked, gesturing to the middle of his shirt where the light that was there last time was now gone.

"We have got a lot to talk about," Tony assessed.

"That we do, my friend," Vanitas remarked. "That we do."

The two exited the common area and entered the hallway, ready for long conversations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm happy we're at one of my favorite games in the series. And that now I can branch out the friendship between Vanitas and Tony Stark


	2. Missions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas goes on missions with Roxas and Axel, while also filling in the cliff notes for Tony and Bruce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Combining the two subsequent missions from the episode of the Timeline for this chapter. I may or may not do this more than once, depending on how long the missions will usually go

Vanitas settled into the bedroom Tony had set up for him pretty quickly. Tony had been a nice guy and arranged it in a way based off of what he learned from Vanitas the last time he was in New York. There were Fall Out Boy posters on the walls, racks to hang up various weaponry, red and black furniture, a giant flat screen TV with a giant collection of DVDs and Blu Ray discs, most looking like they were of various horror movies. There were also old DVDs of old Disney cartoons, mainly those for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

"I felt it was right in place based off of your prior experiences," Tony had explained.

Vanitas had to admit, he wasn't wrong.

He then found a Moogle on a nearby street and bought some sleeping potions from it. That night, Vanitas had a long deserved rest. And the next morning, he swapped war stories with Tony and Bruce over breakfast.

"So the kid actually managed to stop some tall, silver haired dude from covering all the worlds in darkness using the power of friendship?" Tony assessed.

"Yeah," Vanitas said with a slight laugh. "Even though it was an amazing victory for us, can't deny it was the corniest thing ever."

"Despite that," Bruce said, raising his coffee mug. "Thanks for saving us all."

"Eh, it was no problem," Vanitas assured him. "Couldn't have my Science Bros get swallowed by the darkness."

Tony and Bruce chuckled.

"Is that what we are now?" Tony asked.

"You're the smartest Avengers," Vanitas reminded them. "It's a fitting nickname."

"He's not wrong," Bruce admitted, taking a sip out of his mug.

"Hey, nothing wrong with it," Tony admitted, shrugging a shoulder. "So what happened after you guys closed the door?"

"Mm!" Vanitas exclaimed, swallowing the bite of bacon. "That's a whole 'nother story."

He then told them all about Castle Oblivion, from finding the Organization there, to discovering Naminé's powers, and how the Organization exploited them, to how the others went into a voluntary sleep to allow her to restore their memories.

"The Gay Man and his Bitch," Tony couldn't stop himself from laughing out. "Are you sure we're not somehow related? Because that sounds exactly like something I'd come up with."

"I wish," Vanitas remarked, smile on his own face.

"So with all that over," Bruce assessed. "Now you're trying to find out more about these Organization guys?"

"Yeah, that's about right," Vanitas answered, nodding his head.

"We can do our best to keep a look out for these guys," Bruce offered. "But I'm not sure how much help we can actually offer. I mean, you guys are the ones with the giant keys."

"Well, not anymore, in my case," Vanitas remarked, pointing his head to the right.

During the story, he had mentioned to the two about his past and his missing powers. This led to what he had learned on Asgard, about how getting his life force back would be the first step to getting everything else back. But the only thing that could do that in the first place would have to be just a massive surge of light and magic as one of his Keyblade exploding.

"Hey, there should be a way to get it back," Tony suggested. "You've got that vortex manipulator, maybe you can find the right thing to cause that massive of a surge."

"Hopefully," Vanitas remarked.

He then gripped his head in pain, seeing Roxas and Axel together in the Grey Area of their castle. They were paired up for the mission today, and heading to Agrabah to take out Heartless.

"Where'd you go?" Tony asked once he let go of his head.

"Sorry to cut storytime short, guys," Vanitas said, grabbing the last piece of his bacon. "But duty calls."

He ran back into his room and grabbed the blue jacket of his SHIELD suit. Re-attaching his sling to his back, Vanitas ran out into the kitchen and nodded to his friends.

"Wish me luck," he said.

They nodded their heads, and Vanitas pressed the button, making him disappear in a flash of light.

"We've gotta make something like that," Tony remarked.

"And communicators that work across multiple worlds," Bruce informed him. "Jane Foster requested a pair for her and Thor."

* * *

A dark corridor opened in Agrabah in the area with the palace doors. Roxas and Axel walked out and let the portal close behind them.

"Wait one second..." Axel informed Roxas.

Light flashed next to Roxas, and Vanitas appeared, gasping slightly.

"Good to see ya!" Axel exclaimed.

"Likewise," Vanitas remarked. "Wish you guys would pace yourselves a bit better. Didn't even let me finish my breakfast."

"What's breakfast?" Roxas asked.

"First meal of the day," Axel informed him. "Somebodies kind of need to eat more throughout the day than just one bar of ice cream."

"Oh," Roxas said, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Sounds kind of complicated."

"It is, sometimes," Vanitas informed him.

"Whaddya guys say we make this quick?" Axel asked.

"Yeah," Roxas agreed, nodding his head.

"Sounds like a plan," Vanitas agreed.

They exited the area and walked into the marketplace, where their attentions were garnered by the nearby giant, fat cat. He wore a giant blue, purple, black, and red jumpsuit that included boots, gloves, big pockets, and a large zipper up his front. Blue straps formed X's on his chest and back. Vanitas gripped his head as he had a slight vision.

"Pete?" he asked in recognition.

"You know him?" Roxas asked.

"Unfortunately," Vanitas admitted as Pete walked to the side of the area, looking around in confusion.

"Where is it?" the big cat asked himself. "It's gotta be around here somewheres..."

"What the heck's he up to?" Axel asked, slightly on edge.

"He wasn't here last time I came by, that's for sure," Roxas informed them.

"I visited his home world once, a couple of years ago," Vanitas filled them in. "He was a dumb-ass that tried to win a competition by pretending he was a hero. I have no idea how he could have gotten here."

"Hmm..." Axel said in thought. "If a guy that stupid could have broken the barriers between worlds, I don't think he did it just to meet people."

"You think he's up to something?" Roxas asked.

"I _know_ he's up to something," Vanitas decided, pulling out a revolver and checking the ammo.

Pete, meanwhile turned away from a wall in frustration.

"Grrr..." he growled. "Well, I ain't givin' up till I find a way in! And once I find the lamp that's stashed down there..."

"Heh heh heh..." Pete laughed with his fists on his hips. "All my wishes'll come true."

"Okay, he must've gotten dumber since you last met him," Axel assessed, turning towards his two, shorter teammates. "He thinks some lamp is gonna grant his wishes?"

"Yeah, strange guy," Roxas commented.

"Guys, I've been to this world," Vanitas informed the two with wide eyes. "If he's looking for what I think he's looking for, then it's not just some lamp. It has a genie inside hell bent on overtaking this world. If Pete finds it and releases the genie... No one will be safe."

"Hm," Axel said in thought. His next words were a bit more cheerful. "Change of plans, Roxas! Our new mission is following Lunkhead there."

"What?" Roxas asked. "But... we're out on heart collection. Won't we get in trouble if we just-"

"Looking into any suspicious characters all for world domination you come across is an important part of the job," Axel informed him.

"If only they payed a decent amount," Vanitas commented.

"But wouldn't you still call it disobeying orders?" Roxas asked.

"No, I'd call it flexible thinking," Axel informed him. "Got it memorized? Plus, we'll still have plenty of time to collect hearts afterwards. No harm, no foul."

Roxas looked down in thought.

"I guess..." he relented.

"Good, then we're agreed," Axel assessed.

"But we gotta get you up for having more fun," Vanitas remarked, putting his free hand on Roxas' shoulder, garnering the boy's attention.

"We're agreed on that, too," Axel informed him before gesturing to Pete, who had his back to them. "Now, the key here is to keep your eyes on him, Roxas. Just make sure he doesn't lay eyes on you, follow?"

Roxas nodded his head in understanding.

They followed Pete around the marketplace and the entrance to town. The big cat eventually went into an alley between two buildings and stood on top of a pile of sand, staring at the blank wall in front of him intently.

"What's he staring at that wall for, anyway?" Roxas asked, looking up at Axel.

"Roxas, we wouldn't be investigating if we knew all the answers," Axel pointed out.

"Last time I was here, we were in a place where there were all kinds of weird contraptions caused by the most random things," Vanitas explained. "There's no telling if those contraptions are in town or not. We were a little busy to explore every nook and cranny around here."

"Bingo!" Pete exclaimed, garnering their attentions. "Heh heh heh! I finally found it!"

Peeking around the corner, they watched Pete punch the wall. Part of the wall slid inside and then slid to the side, opening a port large enough for even him to pass through.

"Open sesames!" Pete exclaimed.

Pete walked through the entrance and disappeared from sight. The three teammates walked into the alleyway, stopping at the bottom of the sand pile.

"A hidden door in the middle of the city?" Roxas asked. "Why? Where does it lead?"

"I think our friend there is about to show us," Axel commented.

"Dumb-ass to the end," Vanitas chuckled.

"Keep tailing him," Axel informed Roxas. "And try to be subtle about it."

They followed Pete over the sand dunes of the desert for a good, long while. Right until they reached a familiar darkened circular area with a giant tiger head in the middle. Pete looked around a bit while in the mouth and turned in, walking down the staircase. The three of them walked in front of the entrance of the Cave of Wonders, and Roxas and Axel looked up in amazement at the tiger head.

"Never would have guessed this was here," Roxas commented.

"I'll say," Axel agreed. "This is a nice little bonus."

"This is the place I was talking about," Vanitas informed them. "Boys... welcome to the Cave of Wonders."

Heartless suddenly surrounded them, and they took out their respective weapons. Roxas used a combo attack on an Air Soldier, Axel slashed his chakrams at two, and Vanitas slashed his machete encased in fire through one on his own. Just as Vanitas finished off another Air Soldier, Roxas used Reflect to dodge an attack, which caused explosions that finished off two Air Soldiers at once.

A Heartless that looked like a crazy monkey appeared, and Vanitas pulled out his Colt handgun. He fired three times at the Heartless, taking it out while Axel through his fire encased chakrams through another Air Soldier. Roxas finished off the last one himself with a long aerial combo attack.

With the Heartless defeated, the team entered the Cave of Wonders and walked down the steps. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they entered a large, intricate hallway, with no sight of Pete anywhere. Roxas looked around in amazement.

"What the hell?" Vanitas asked, brows furrowed in confusion. "It was not like this before."

"This cave's bigger than it looks from the outside..." Axel commented. "Hey, I think we lost him."

"So what now?" Roxas asked.

"Guess we'll have to give up for now," Axel sighed out. "Switch back to heart collection."

"You don't want to look for him?" Roxas asked. "What about the whole world domination thing?"

"It would be beneficial in the long run to find him," Axel admitted.

"But given the size of this place, and how long it took _us_ to find our way around here last time," Vanitas said in thought. "And given how stupid he is, I'm pretty sure he'll break his own balls before he finds the lamp. So, we're safe in that department."

"And hey," Axel commented. "Just finding out about this cave is enough of a feather in our cap for today. Plus..." He looked up in thought. "...searching a place this big would be a royal pain."

"Scratch that," Vanitas commented. "He'll break his own balls, get sleeping darts in five parts of his body, _and_ fall off a cliff. Not necessarily in that order."

Both Axel and Roxas laughed at Vanitas' words.

"What'd I tell ya?" Axel informed Roxas. "Vulgar _and_ hilarious."

"Well, you're not wrong," Roxas agreed. He looked up at Axel with a cocky smirk. "But what happened to this being an important part of the job?"

"Like I said, flexible thinking," Axel remarked.

"Ha ha, oh, I see," Roxas commented.

"Hey, let's just get this mission over and done with," Axel commented, rubbing the back of his head.

Heartless that looked like mystic women appeared once they took a few steps. Axel slashed at one with his chakrams, and Vanitas blasted the other with his 12 gauge shotgun he pulled out from his sling. Roxas and Axel took out one, Roxas with a long combo attack, and Axel with powerful fire attacks from his chakrams. They moved on to face off against a couple of Soldiers, which were a bit tricker to take out due to how fast they were. Vanitas wasted a bit of ammo firing at the short creature. But Roxas managed to make up the difference with big lunges that took out most of the Heartless.

They ran further into the part of the Cave they were in to come face to face with two more monkey like Heartless, and another mystic woman. A monkey jumped onto Vanitas and made him fall to the ground and drop his shotgun. Roxas and Axel took on the mystic woman and other monkey while Vanitas rolled on the ground, trying to get the upper hand. He forced the monkey onto its back and straddled it as he pulled out his hunting knife. With both hands, he stabbed the knife into the monkey's head, destroying it.

More Soldiers, mystic women, and even living cannons appeared, getting the jump on the three. Vanitas stabbed a Soldier with his knife, then threw it off the ledge, into the bottomless pit. Roxas took on the other soldiers with combo attacks while Axel fought the mystic woman with is chakrams. Vanitas picked up his shotgun and smacked it into the face of one of the living cannons. When the cannon looked ready to fire, he placed his hand over the top, keeping the explosion contained inside it, destroying it and burning his hand.

Axel threw up a Hi-Potion which healed up Vanitas' hand, and he pointed his shotgun with one hand at the mystic woman. He fired, sending it hard into a wall. Vanitas then shot another blast at the mystic woman, taking it out. There were one or two moments where Roxas wasn't fast enough, and Soldiers smacked him around with their attacks. Axel retaliated for him most of the time with his chakrams. Once the Soldiers were destroyed, Vanitas took out the last cannon with his shotgun.

They reached the end of the hallway and came across two Fat Bandits and multiple monkeys. Vanitas blasted one monkey just as it looked like blue magic appeared around its hands. Axel rushed forwards with his chakrams, leaving a trail of fire as he went through the front of a Fat Bandit, so the attack was blocked. Roxas used extended, powerful combos to take out two more monkeys, and Vanitas emptied his shotgun into the last monkey.

With the two Fat Bandits remaining, Vanitas decided to speed things up and pulled his grenade launched out of his sling. He leaped behind the Fat Bandit and fired, blowing up one and knocking back the other. Axel slashed with his chakrams and Roxas used another extended combo attack, following it up with Thunder magic, finishing off the last Heartless.

"Mission Complete," Axel announced.

"How do you know?" Vanitas asked.

"That's how it works in the Organization," Roxas informed him. "When we're on heart collection duty, we just know."

"Huh," Vanitas assessed. "That's a little weird, but okay."

They dismissed their weapons, Vanitas grabbing the ones he dropped, and left the cave.

Just like the previous day, after they finished their mission, they went to Twilight Town and sat on top of the clock tower to eat ice cream. The three of them were in the same places as before, Axel on Roxas' right, and Vanitas standing leaning against the wall behind the two.

"You know, you're more cheerful," Axel commented as Roxas took another bite of ice cream.

"You really think so?" Roxas asked. "I was thinking the same about you."

"Yeah, well..." Axel said in thought. "I guess... He musta rubbed off on me."

 _That's how it works with Sora_ , Vanitas thought, which Axel heard in his head.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"Nah," Axel assessed, taking another bite of his bar. "It's thanks to you that we get to sit here again and laugh while eating ice cream."

"That's the beauty of friendship, guys," Vanitas commented. "When you're friends with someone, they can turn spineless bastards, quiet people, or even cold-hearted sons of bitches, and turn them into happy idiots."

"So we're happy idiots?" Axel laughed.

"Exactly," Vanitas told them.

"By that logic, you're a happy idiot just like us," Roxas laughed.

"And proud!" Vanitas announced, raising his ice cream bar like he was holding up a trophy.

Roxas and Axel laughed and followed his example, holding up their bars.

"To happy idiots!" Vanitas announced.

"To happy idiots!" Roxas and Axel repeated while laughing.

They eventually stopped laughing and Roxas looked to the side in thought.

"I wonder if Xion's gonna show today..." he muttered.

Vanitas looked towards the entrance to where they were at with an eyebrow raised in a knowing manner. He put Roxas' worry for the moment up to his obvious crush on the girl, before he realized something. According to his visions, Xion hadn't been to the clock tower, or even the castle in a number of days so far. Where exactly was she?

* * *

After spending a night at Avengers Tower and filling in details of the day to Bruce and Tony, Vanitas stood ready for his next vision of Roxas. It came pretty quickly, showing said boy walking out of a dark corridor at the end of a bridge. Vanitas quickly set the coordinates for the world into his vortex manipulator. He pressed the button, and appeared on the bridge next to Roxas in a flash of light.

"Whoa!" Roxas exclaimed in calm surprise. "Do you ever get to used to that?"

"I've only been using it for about two days," Vanitas admitted, blinking spots out of his eyes. "So, that would be a 'no'."

When the spots left his eyes, he looked down at his vortex manipulator, and checked which world they were on. His eyes widened and his lips curled into a smile when he read the name.

"Oh, shit," Vanitas chuckled. "What do you know? Who would have thought I'd find him here?"

"Wait, have you been here before?" Roxas asked.

"No, but I know the guy who owns this place," Vanitas informed him.

Their attentions were drawn by a loud, familiar, roar in the distance.

"What was that roar?" Roxas asked.

"That would be the guy I was just talking about," Vanitas admitted.

"Really?" Roxas asked, intrigued. "It came from inside. I started to think it was the Heartless I'm after. Wait, how do you know a guy who can roar like that?"

"Well," Vanitas slowly told him. "He's not exactly human."

"Of course he isn't," Roxas commented. "Well, time to head in and take a look."

Vanitas pulled a Mossberg 500 shotgun with a pistol grip out of his sling and pumped it, ready.

"Let's head in," Vanitas agreed.

They walked through the doors in front of the bridge and entered the courtyard. That was when they came across Heartless, and Vanitas didn't hesitate to blast the Neoshadow with his shotgun.

"So, I gotta ask..." Roxas started as he used a combo attack on a possessed statue holding an axe. "What exactly does the 'no life force' thing mean?"

"It means..." Vanitas started after blasting the Neoshadow a third time. "My heart doesn't work, I can't feel anything, blood doesn't run through my veins..." He paused as the two ended up next to each other, and they looked each other in the eye as Vanitas continued. "I shouldn't be alive. I'm basically a zombie. Duck."

Roxas was a little confused by the last sentence, but quickly complied, and lowered his head. Vanitas blasted his shotgun at a possessed statue behind him with a sword. The statue was knocked back, and fell onto the ground. Roxas then surrounded himself with Reflect, which absorbed an attack and caused mini-explosions to surround him, damaging the Heartless.

"I can relate," Roxas admitted as he released the darkness from one possessed statue, destroying it. "Axel called me a zombie, pretty much my entire first couple of weeks in the Organization. Plus, with us not being able to feel things, you're not really that different from that of a Nobody."

Vanitas' eyes widened at that, causing him to stop himself from shooting another possessed statue. He was right. Without his life force, his heart being dead, and not being able to feel anything, what separated him from these Nobodies?

His attention was drawn back to the fight as Roxas finished off the soldier in front of him.

"So what caused this to happen you?" Roxas asked as Vanitas turned back to another statue. "From what I've seen, I think Somebodies would have to go through a lot to lose so much."

"I did," Vanitas informed him, feeling the kickback of the shotgun on his shotgun. "You and Xion, you're not the only ones with experience with Keyblades."

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked, using another combo attack on one of the statues.

"I had one," Vanitas admitted. His shotgun clicked empty, so he reached into his ammo pocket. "I was what's known as a Keyblade Master. I used it to protect my friends, the people I cared about more than anything. But then..."

He sighed out as he pumped his shotgun, ready.

"I was in battle trying to protect them," Vanitas continued. "And it was damaged. I overexerted myself, and it exploded. Right in my face."

Roxas stopped and looked towards the ravenette.

"Is that what..." Roxas started, pointing at the scar on his face.

"Yeah," Vanitas nodded his head, looking at Roxas as he fired at the last possessed statue. "And it took everything from me. My life force, control of my powers, and my memories. It's all gone."

Roxas' eyes widened at that. He looked down at the giant Key in his hands.

"They can do that?" Roxas asked as they went up the nearest staircase to the front doors.

"Only if they're damaged and overexerted enough," Vanitas admitted.

"I kind of know what you're going through," Roxas admitted. "I don't have any memories from before my days in the Organization."

"And I don't have any memories exceeding ten years ago," Vanitas admitted. "I guess we got more in common than we thought."

They walked through the doors into the entrance hall. Looking around curiously, they ran forwards up a staircase in front of them, then ran back to face the doors.

"It's awfully quiet," Roxas commented. "Is nobody home?"

"They should be," Vanitas informed him. "They should have gotten back here easily after the last time we met."

The two of them turned back to face the stairs in front of them.

"Hey, what did you mean by 'powers'?" Roxas asked.

Before Vanitas could answer, multiple Commanders, large yellow Soldiers, appeared in front of them.

"There's my targets!" Roxas exclaimed.

"You're about to find out," Vanitas informed him, replacing his shotgun with his machete.

Encasing his machete in fire, Vanitas slashed it into one Commander while Roxas deflected the attacks of two others. When the three jumped up into the air, Roxas cast Reflect around the two of them, blocking their aerial attacks. When the explosions happened around the shield, Vanitas increased their power with small fire explosions, knocking all three of them onto their backs. Vanitas stabbed one Commander with his machete, finishing it off while Roxas finished off a second with Lightning. The third Commander leaped at Vanitas with an aerial attack, and he side kicked it towards Roxas. Roxas got the message, and slashed through it with his Keyblade, finishing it off.

Large Shadows then appeared, but they were made quick work with Vanitas' machete and Roxas' combo attacks. Then three Commanders appeared down the line of the carpet, surprising them. Roxas moved quickly and ambushed one, not giving it breathing room as he attacked with combos. Vanitas lifted his machete and held it backhanded, throwing it straight at one other Commander, damaging it. He then grabbed the Commander by its ankles and lifted it into the air. He slammed it to the ground, hard, on each side of himself. He did this until the Heartless was destroyed.

Lifting up his machete, Vanitas turned towards the last Commander, which used an aerial attack on Roxas, which he blocked. Vanitas lobed a fireball at the Commander, causing an explosion that knocked it onto its back. The Commander stood up, and the two moved quickly. Roxas stabbed it on its right side with his Keyblade, while Vanitas stabbed it on its left side with his machete, causing each boys' weapons to erupt in front of the other. The Commander disappeared in a small explosion, releasing a heart into the air, as per usual.

Roxas dismissed his Keyblade and Vanitas slid his machete into his sling, and the two stood up straight, out of their battle stances.

"Mission accomplished," Roxas assessed. "Time to RTC."

Another roar garnered their attentions.

"I think your friend has some anger issues," Roxas commented.

"That's one way of putting it," Vanitas remarked.

"Saïx's orders were to RTC as soon as the mission was done," Roxas admitted. "I think I'd better call it a day."

"Nothing wrong with that," Vanitas commented.

They went to the clock tower just like the previous day with ice cream bars. Sitting in their usual spots, Vanitas explained the full range of the powers that he was missing, the super strength, the telepathy, and the telekinesis.

"They just arrive in random spurts?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas admitted, taking another bite from his bar. "And it can be a bitch when you're in battle and they just randomly come out."

"There's gotta be a way to fix that," Roxas commented.

"There should be," Vanitas informed him. "I checked with experts, and they tell me that a large amount of energy and light equal to that of a Keyblade exploding should be enough to give me back my life force, and then I can get everything back."

"Maybe Xion and I can help," Roxas suggested. "We've both got Keyblades. If it needs a large amount of power, then once we get strong enough, maybe we can do something."

Vanitas thought about it for a second. Maybe this was what he needed. Two Keyblade wielders, once they get powerful enough... could they help him?

"We'll try once we find her," Vanitas nodded his head in agreement.

"You can't see her in your visions?" Roxas asked.

"I can't exactly control them," Vanitas admitted. "If I try, I feel a stabbing pain in the back of my eyeballs. I learned a little while ago to just let them come naturally."

Roxas nodded his head in understanding. He looked towards the entrance of the walkway in a little sadness.

"Where's Axel?" Roxas asked.

He looked forwards and down sadly.

"I hope Xion's okay..." Roxas sighed out.

Vanitas patted his friend's shoulder in sympathy.

"She'll be all right," he assured his friend. "I'm sure of it."

Roxas smiled gratefully at the ravenette and they continued to eat their ice cream, staring out at the sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the extended, possibly unnecessary battles are back. Not really that much else to these missions, after all. And now, Vanitas is gaining some hope that maybe his new friends will be able to help. Can they help him? We'll have to wait and see...


	3. Quartet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Working together, Roxas, Vanitas, and Axel find Xion and devise a plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've managed to drag myself away from reading Doctor Who/Clara Oswald fanfiction for a couple of hours and worked this out

"And then your girlfriend's ex tried to kill you?" Vanitas assessed at the breakfast table.

After Vanitas had explained most of his story to Tony and Bruce, Tony returned the favor and informed the ravenette what he had been up to since the last time they met. Vanitas was impressed that even with PTSD and not as much access to his advanced technology that Tony managed to stop a crazy, fiery dude, with a little help from a preteen boy. Even if it did end up destroying his house.

"That's right," Tony confirmed. "But then she blasted him to pieces. Gotta admit, the sports bra look wasn't half bad on her."

"My boy!" Vanitas exclaimed, raising his hand for a fist bump, which Tony acquiesced to. "This just goes to show, never let your missus meet your exes."

"Amen to that, brother," Tony agreed, nodding his head.

"I have trouble telling which one of you has been a teenager for the last decade," Bruce commented after a bite of egg.

"Who says it's only one of us?" Tony joked, causing the three of them to laugh.

"You sure that Harley kid's somehow not yours, though?" Vanitas asked, eyebrow raised. "He's a lot like you, as well. I mean, were you entirely conscious of your actions thirteen years ago?"

"Of course I wasn't," Tony admitted. "But I would remember THAT much. It doesn't mean I won't watch out for the kid, though. He's gonna need it."

"Gives you practice for after you and Pepper get married," Vanitas informed him.

"Whoa," Tony commented, raising his hands to slow him down. "You might be getting ahead of us, but I guess you're not wrong."

Vanitas laughed a bit before he looked up at Tony with a raised eyebrow.

"You know," he pointed out. "They say having a daughter is Life's way of getting back at you for the way you treated women throughout your life."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows as he looked to the side in thought. After a second, his eyes widened.

"If I ever have a daughter, I'm in trouble," he announced, causing Vanitas and Bruce to start laughing.

Vanitas stopped after a second, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"I still can't help but feel like I've heard that term before," Vanitas commented. "The Mandarin. And not just from that dumb-ass. I think it might be for something else."

"I'll look into it later on," Bruce offered.

"Thanks," Vanitas nodded his head at the man, before turning to look at Tony. "Now, there's something incredibly important I need to ask you. This is possibly the most important thing to me right now."

Tony raised an eyebrow in thought at Vanitas' serious tone.

"Is Fall Out Boy around on this form of Earth?" Vanitas asked.

Tony and Bruce both chuckled a bit at that.

"Actually, yeah," Tony informed him. "Last I heard, they got back together just a month or two ago."

"The hiatus is over," Vanitas assessed, looking at the table with wide eyes. "Save Rock and Roll."

He got up and started running to the glass door leading to the balcony.

"Save Rock and Roll!" Vanitas yelled, arms raised in excitement.

Bruce and Tony laughed as he ran into the glass door and fell down onto the floor.

"I'm okay!" Vanitas called out, raising a hand to the others.

He gripped his head in pain, seeing Roxas and Axel in the Grey Room. Axel informed Roxas that their mission today was to find Xion. When they reported to Saïx, he ordered them to not come back without her (rude), and sent them to Twilight Town. Vanitas sighed out as he sat up.

"No rest for the wicked, I guess," he commented as he stood up.

"Time to go to work?" Tony asked.

"Unfortunately," Vanitas confirmed, sliding his arms into his SHIELD outfit jacket.

"Tell us more when you get back," Bruce informed him. "We wanna see if there's anything we can do to help."

"You got it, buddy," Vanitas agreed, strapping his sling more tightly onto his shoulder.

He pressed the buttons on his vortex manipulator, and in a flash of light, appeared in the back alley of Twilight Town. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, Vanitas witnessed a Dark Corridor appearing, and Roxas and Axel walked out.

"You already know what we're doing?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas admitted, rubbing his eyes. "That's part of the whole vision thing. Happens at random, whether I like it or not."

"Sounds like a pain in the ass," Axel commented.

"You have no idea," Vanitas admitted.

"Anyway," Roxas said, a little bit of eagerness in his voice. "Where do you guys suppose Xion is?"

"Well, the mission she had was to take out a giant Heartless," Axel informed the two, scratching the back of his head in thought.

"That could be anywhere," Roxas sadly remarked, looking down.

"Then keep your chin up," Vanitas informed him, causing Roxas to look at him in thought. "If you're trying to look for her, you won't find her by looking at the ground, and seeing people stepping in dog shit."

"True," Roxas admitted, slight smile on his face.

"Let's start by digging up info around town," Axel suggested. "If we can find that Heartless, there's a good chance we can find Xion, too."

"Right," Roxas said, nodding his head in agreement.

"Let's roll," Vanitas announced.

They walked down the stairs in front of them into the Sandlot area. There, they found two teenagers, a blonde boy and brunette girl, talking to each other.

"You sure you heard that right?" the blonde boy asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," the brunette girl insisted. "I told you!"

"And you heard it where again?" the blonde boy asked.

"The tunnel!" the brunette girl insisted. "I was just there, and I heard a weird, low moan."

"Did ya see what was making it?" the blonde boy asked.

"Are you kidding?" the brunette girl asked. "I was scared! I got out of there as fast as I could."

"A low moan?" Roxas asked, hand on his chin in thought.

"Could be our Heartless," Axel suggested.

"Or it could be Xion," Roxas suggested, looking up at Axel. "Injured, unable to get back to the castle..."

"Dude, you're obsessed," Vanitas commented.

"Yeah, you are," Axel agreed, looking down at Roxas. "Look, I'm sure Xion is just fine. C'mon, let's go check it out."

"But stay prepared," Vanitas informed his allies, pulling out his spear for emphasis.

The three of them made their way through town, taking out Heartless with their various weapons while using plenty of variety. They reached the lowest tunnel way and took out some Large Bodies and a large Shadow with a little bit of difficulty. With the Heartless gone, the three put away their weapons for a little respite.

"Huh?" a voice in the entranceway of the tunnel way called out. "What are you guys doing down here?"

The three of them turned with caution to see a slightly portly teenage boy with a headband walking towards them. He stopped and looked at them with curiosity in his eyes.

"You lose something?" he asked.

"You could say that, yeah," Axel admitted. "We heard rumors of a strange moaning sound?"

"Strange moaning..." the boy repeated to himself. "Oh! Are you talking about that vent up there?"

They followed his gaze up to see a vent high on the wall, with water pouring out onto the drain nearby.

"The wind coming through it creates a lot of echoes," the boy explained. "It sounds kind of like a moan."

"Well, that was anti-climactic," Vanitas commented.

"Ugh, for crying out loud..." Axel sighed out, irritation in his voice.

"So... you guys said you lost something?" the boy asked.

"Some _one_ ," Roxas corrected him. "A friend of ours."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the boy told them, a little embarrassed. "Hope you find them soon."

"Thanks," Roxas told him, gratefully.

"So what's your story?" Axel asked the boy. "Why are you down here?"

"Me?" the boy asked with a cryptic smile on his face. "Heh heh, that's a secret. Hey, I don't think we've been introduced."

"I'm Pence," he announced, happily. "If you ever need anything, I'm always happy to help."

"Um, thanks," Roxas said with a little uncertainty.

_Weird_ _bastard_ , Vanitas thought, which both Roxas and Axel heard in their heads.

"Sure," Pence told them. "I'll catch you later."

He turned away from them and walked out of the tunnel way.

"Well, that was a dead end," Axel commented, looking at the other two.

"Yeah, all we really learned was that guy's name," Roxas commented.

"Hate it when that happens," Vanitas remarked.

"Time to hit the town again..." Axel sighed out, looking back to the entrance of the tunnel way.

They made their way through the town once again and ended up underneath some high up train tracks. It looked like someone had converted it to a hang out spot, based off of the well worn sofa and dartboard on a wall. Vanitas and Axel looked around in thought while Roxas looked behind a barrel.

"Hey, I found a piece of paper," Roxas announced.

Vanitas and Axel walked over to him as he placed the paper on the barrel.

"It's some kind of map," Axel observed.

"Somebody's scribbled some notes on it," Roxas commented.

"Looks like the work of a nut bag conspiracy nut," Vanitas commented. He smiled as he looked up in thought. "Just like my Uncle Howard."

He looked down and read the map with them.

"'Spooky Steps'?" Axel asked in thought. "'Friend from Behind the Wall'? Hey, this one about a moaning tunnel..."

"Sounds familiar, huh?" Roxas asked, looking up at Axel.

"There's more," Vanitas announced. "'The Doppelgänger'...'The Animated Bag'..."

"A ghost train, a haunted mansion..." Roxas read. "There's seven altogether."

"What's it all mean?" Axel asked.

"You mean besides that this kid has way too much free time and is possibly a pothead?" Vanitas asked.

"I think we know just the guy to ask," Roxas informed them. "If nothing else, he seemed to know a lot about the town."

Axel looked down at Roxas, already dreading what he meant. They made their way back down to the tunnel way underground, and found Pence just standing there.

"Hey, guys," he called out. "Something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, actually," Axel admitted. "We had a question."

"Okay, shoot," Pence said. "Let's see if it's anything I know."

"Is anything..." Axel started, scratching the back of his head in thought. "...weird happening here? You know, in the town? I mean, there are lots of little quirks and mysteries, right? Like, say... the Spooky Stairs..."

"Ohhh..." Pence said, looking down, then back up in thought. "So you guys are like me, investigating the town's Seven Wonders?"

"Uh, yeah, something like that," Axel relented.

_You're right, he might be a pothead_ , Axel thought, which Vanitas heard.

"Hmm..." Pence said, looking down in thought. He looked back up at them. "I wasn't planning to talk to anyone about it until I'd finished my investigation, but... All right. I'll tell you what I've got so far."

"So, I've been digging around, and I've learned that the town's Wonders are all linked!" Pence informed them. "In... the sense that they're all made-up. Nothing but stupid urban legends and rumors."

"What?" Roxas asked.

"Like those stairs you mentioned?" Pence suggested. "Total sham. The truth about that one is just embarrassing."

"Like the Loch Ness Monster," Vanitas suggested.

Pence put a finger to his nose and pointed at Vanitas to emphasize his point.

"Just another sleepy town, huh?" Axel asked.

"Sorry, guys," Pence told them. "You're wasting your time. Well, except maybe for the Eighth Wonder..."

"There's an Eighth!?" Roxas asked with surprise.

"The one about the tree," Pence informed them. "Out in the woods? There's one tree where, if you shake it, the whole place starts to rustle. Swish, swish, SWISH!"

"...Weird, huh?" Pence asked. "I still haven't seen it firsthand, so I can't tell you much. But people have said that they feel like they're being watched there, even though it's deserted."

"Pretty strange," Roxas commented.

"Wouldn't be much of a Wonder if it wasn't!" Pence anxiously agreed. "I'm planning to go figure out the trick behind it later."

"Good luck with that," Axel told him.

"Thanks!" Pence told them. "Well, I should get back to my investigation. Try to keep this to yourselves, huh?"

He turned and walked away from the three of them.

"Good luck, ya stoner," Vanitas commented once he was out of earshot.

"That was uninformative," Roxas commented.

"Maybe, maybe not," Axel told him.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"He said people have been feeling some kind of presence outside of town, right?" Axel asked. He looked towards Vanitas. "Mr Jordan, how often have you dealt with invisible enemies?"

"Enough to the point where it's not funny anymore," Vanitas admitted.

"Then maybe that's Xion's target," Axel suggested.

"Right," Roxas said, nodding his head in agreement. "Let's go check it out."

They went above ground and went through the Tram Common, taking out Heartless along the way with their weapons. Vanitas was incredibly curious about how they could make this much noice outside and not draw the attention of the city's occupants, but shrugged it off as he slashed through another Neoshadow with his machete.

They found the entrance to the woods that Pence was talking about. After all, it was kind of hard to miss a big hole in a gigantic wall. The three of them walked into the woods, and their attentions were immediately drawn to a shaking tree that they didn't even touch.

"Is...is something there?" Roxas called out as they looked up at the tree.

"Heh, looks like we got a live one here," Axel commented.

"I'm on it," Vanitas announced as he pulled out a Glock 22 handgun.

He pulled back the hammer and pointed the gun at the top of the tree. He fired three times, two of them hitting the tree trunk, and the third hitting something they couldn't see. That made the three of them widen their eyes in surprise.

"There's definitely something up there," Axel remarked.

They followed the sound of rustling and wind rushing through the woods and up the road towards the abandoned mansion.

"Hurry, Roxas," Axel eagerly egged Roxas on. "Don't let it get away!"

"Right!" Roxas exclaimed, nodding his head in agreement.

They ran up the path and stopped across the field from the gate that Vanitas remembered from Castle Oblivion, where they had fought Vexen. He didn't have too much time to reminisce, as a large chameleon like Heartless called the Veil Lizard appeared right in front of the gate.

"You think that's the one?" Roxas asked.

"Well, it's certainly giant," Vanitas remarked.

"No wonder Xion had trouble," Axel commented. "It was blending right into the scenery."

"So, where is Xion?" Roxas asked, looking up at Axel.

"Still probably trying to find it, probably," Axel theorized.

"Probably," Vanitas agreed. "I have telepathic abilities, and we still needed help finding it."

"Exactly," Axel commented, gesturing to Vanitas.

"What do you suggest?" Roxas asked.

"Well, a target's a target," Axel announced, summoning his chakrams. "Doesn't matter who takes it out. I say we do it now, before it vanishes again."

"I'm on it," Vanitas announced, already on one knee with his hands in his sling.

He pulled a rocket launcher out of his sling and stood up. Vanitas aimed the launcher at the Veil Lizard and pulled the trigger, firing the rocket. The Lizard opened up it's mouth and swallowed the rocket with a little help from its tongue.

"Ha!" Vanitas exclaimed triumphantly, smiles on the trio's faces. "How do you like that, bitch?"

His moment of triumph ended when the Lizard opened its mouth and the rocket fired out, aimed at them.

"Duck!" Axel exclaimed as the three of them crouched down.

He raised his arms over his shorter friends as they ducked down in defense of the rocket. It flew over their backs and into the woods, where it exploded on the ground. The three boys stood up strait and looked back at where the rocket exploded, then back up at the boss Heartless.

"I guess we'll move on to Plan B," Vanitas commented, pulling his sledgehammer out of his sling.

"I second that notion," Roxas announced, summoning his Keyblade and standing in his battle stance.

Roxas and Vanitas ran forwards a bit and stood in front of the Veil Lizard, ready. But Roxas' attention was then drawn to Xion running in front of the wall and gate, right towards the Heartless.

"Xion!" he called out, causing her to stop next to the Heartless and look at him, eyes wide in surprise.

"Roxas!?" Xion asked in surprise as the Heartless turned towards her.

The Veil Lizard then hit her with its elongated tongue and she exclaimed as she was knocked across the field and onto the ground.

"Xion!" Roxas exclaimed before he started running towards her.

"Roxas!" Vanitas stopped him.

"We have to take that thing out first!" Axel added, gesturing to the Heartless.

With newfound anger in his eyes, Roxas turned towards the Veil Lizard and charged at it with his friends. They had to dodge as the Lizard lunged all over the area with vertical spinning attacks, some of which hurt Axel, but Roxas and Vanitas managed to dodge. Once it finally stopped, Roxas charged it with a combo attack and a blast of Blizzard. Vanitas did his own mock combo attack with his sledgehammer, with the heavy part encased in fire. Axel managed to finally hit it with its attacks consisting of throwing his fire encased chakrams, which caused a bit of damage.

Roxas used another combo attack, then cast Reflect around himself as the Lizard did another spin attack, this one horizontal, which knocked back Axel, but gave Roxas the momentum needed to cast Reflect's attack. The explosions damaged the Lizard, which Vanitas added assistance to by hurling his fire encased sledgehammer at its head, this time not missing. The Lizard leaped behind them, and Roxas charged at it to attack, but was knocked back when it started its vertical spinning attacks again.

Vanitas picked up his sledgehammer and raised it in an attack. When the Veil Lizard came near him with its vertical spin attack, he swung and knocked it out of the air and onto the ground. This gave Roxas the opportunity to use another combo attack with another blast of Blizzard. Unfortunately, the boss recovered quickly, using more vertical spin attacks which knocked all three of them around. Axel managed to keep them all alive by throwing Potions and Ethers up whenever given the chance, but he still got knocked around a bit. When the Lizard stopped again, Roxas bombarded it with combo attacks, and Axel cornered it with his own attacks with his chakrams.

Vanitas raised his sledgehammer above his head to attack once again, but was knocked back with Roxas and Axel when it used another horizontal spin attack. Vanitas was knocked onto his back as the Heartless kept the attacks. Roxas tried to cast Reflect, but it was too late to dodge the attacks. Vanitas looked up and decided to press his luck. Even though trying to take control of his powers manually caused more pain than most Heartless, he pressed on, anyway. He raised his hands up at the Lizard mid-spin, and it froze in the air. Vanitas exclaimed in pain as blood poured out of his nose while Roxas used Cure on himself and Axel.

"Ugh, why does this have to make me look like the Stranger Things girl?" Vanitas exclaimed in pain, still holding up the Heartless with telekinesis as blood continued to pour out of his nose.

Roxas and Axel didn't hesitate and attacked the Lizard with their attacks. Roxas used multiple combos while waiting for his magic to replenish itself, and Axel threw his fire encased chakrams all around, blasting all kinds of fire. Once they were back on the ground, Vanitas added a bit by encasing it with fire, mostly around the head. After having a stabbing feeling throughout most of his head for, longer than would be preferably comfortable, Vanitas released it and let the Heartless fall to the ground. He wiped the blood off of his face as his friends kept up the attack.

Seeing through the spots in his eyes, Vanitas saw the Heartless smack around his friends with its spin attacks, but they still managed to keep up their own attacks, even if they were still knocked on their asses. Vanitas pulled a Mega-Potion out of his pocket, throwing it up into the air. Green energy surrounded the three, healing their wounds. Once the spots faded from his eyes, Vanitas picked up his sledgehammer and joined his friends on the offensive. They kept up their attacks of varying kinds while dodging the Lizard's attacks, until they finished it off with combined spells of Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder. The Heartless was destroyed in a bright flare of light that released a crystal looking heart that flew into the air.

Dismissing their weapons, they turned their attentions to Xion, who was still on the ground. Roxas ran towards her with worry in his eyes.

"Xion!" he exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

She struggled up into a sitting position and looked up at the blonde standing over her.

"Roxas?" Xion asked.

"Easy," he told her, kneeling down and offering a hand. "Are you hurt?"

She took his offered hand and he helped her stand up.

"I'm fine..." Xion told him. "Thank you. It's just..."

"You can tell us all about it..." Axel informed her. "...but why don't we head back first?"

"I'm Vanitas, call me V," Vanitas informed her with a slight wave of his hand. "How 'bout we rest up a bit?"

They went to the clock tower and sat in their spots, Axel, Roxas, and Xion, with Vanitas behind Axel and Roxas.

"There ya go," Axel announced, offering the three ice cream bars.

"Thank you..." Xion said.

They took their bars and all of them started eating them while looking out at the sunset. Well, all of them except for Xion, who just looked down, sadly. Roxas quickly took notice of this and looked at her.

"Eat up," he told her, softly. "It's gonna melt."

"Yeah..." Xion softly sighed out.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked. "I thought you'd wolf it down."

"Is everything all right?" Vanitas asked.

"Did something happen?" Roxas asked, with equal sympathy in his voice.

"We're here for you if you want to get it off your chest," Axel offered. "Right, Roxas? V?"

"Yeah," Vanitas agreed as he and Roxas nodded their heads.

"He's right," Roxas told her, causing her to look at him. "That's what friends are for."

Xion looked forwards and down sadly again.

"I can't..." she started. "I can't use the Keyblade anymore. And without the Keyblade, I can't do my job."

"What exactly happened?" Roxas asked.

"I don't know," Xion admitted. "But if I don't defeat Heartless with the Keyblade... the hearts they release will just find their way into other Heartless instead. I swat them in one place, and they just pop up in another."

She looked up at the three in sadness.

"My mission is to go out and collect hearts," she informed them. "If I'm unable to use the Keyblade... I'll... I'll be useless."

"This sounds like a very harsh job," Vanitas commented.

"Very," Roxas agreed, looking at Axel. "Is there anything you and V could do, Axel?"

"I wish there was, but..." Axel started. "...It's just like she said. Without the Keyblade, she can't collect hearts."

He scratched the back of his head while Roxas looked at Xion again.

"And once they find out, they're gonna turn me into a Dusk," Xion finished sadly.

"Again, harsh job!" Vanitas exclaimed, eyes wide.

"We can't do anything?" Roxas asked Axel, more urgently.

Both Roxas and Vanitas looked at Axel urgently, who was looking down in thought.

"I already told ya, there's nothing we ca..." Axel interrupted himself. He looked up in thought. "Hold on."

"Did you think of something?" Roxas asked.

He looked towards them, smile on his face.

"Roxas, you and V can work double duty!" Axel informed them.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"What do you mean?" Xion asked.

"And how exactly do I fit into this?" Vanitas asked.

"Xion," Axel started. "Make sure your missions are with Roxas... until you can use your Keyblade again. That way, he can collect the hearts, and no one will know that you can't use the Keyblade. And with V there, you can take out twice as many Heartless with little difficulty, and no one will be the wiser."

"That's it...!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Son of a bitch, that's brilliant!" Vanitas exclaimed.

"But don't get cocky," Axel informed them. "Just 'cause there's two of you doesn't mean you guys are unstoppable."

"Hey, a Keyblade trainee and a former Keyblade Master?" Vanitas asked. "Of course we're unstoppable!" When he saw the reprimanding look Axel shot him, Vanitas raised his hands in a relenting manner. "Okay, okay, yeah, we're not completely unstoppable. But we're damn near."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. He smiled at Xion with determination in his eyes. "We can do it."

"Would you?" Xion asked, seeming a little surprised at the notion.

"Of course I would!" Roxas assured her.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed, raising a fist slightly.

"But..." Xion said, looking down in thought.

"Friends need to lean on each other every now and then," Axel informed her.

" _I_ learned that the hard way," Vanitas admitted, gesturing to the scar on his face.

"But you have us now," Axel informed him. "And it's a two way street. Ain't that right, Roxas?"

"We're friends..." Xion assessed softly. "Axel... V... does that mean you and I are friends, too?"

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas assured her. "Ain't that right, Ax?"

He looked at Axel, who was staring at Xion with now widened eyes. Glimpsing into Axel's head, which caused a stabbing feeling in the back of one eyeball, Vanitas saw that Axe;'s view of her had just changed. Apparently, while Roxas and himself had been seeing Xion as a girl that looked like Namine and Kairi with black hair, he had been seeing her with her hood covering her face. And he only just now started seeing Xion as a girl, having a slight flashback to Namine. Axel looked down and scratched his head in slight embarrassment.

"Well, if you're friends with Roxas, then yeah, of course you're my friend," Axel told her.

That seemed to have lifted her spirits, because she finally started to smile.

"Thank you..." Xion said. "Roxas, V, Axel!"

"Just eat your ice cream," Axel told her.

"Kind of defeats the purpose of having it as a bar when you have to drink it up," Vanitas joked.

The three laughed and looked out at the sunset. All four of them ate their ice cream in contentment as they watched the sunset, okay with how the day went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a little upset when I saw that my teachers continued giving us assignments after the original three weeks of work ended. Should've seen it coming, though. I guess it was a pipe dream to think that they would just let the last Quarter go. Despite that, I'm glad we're now getting to these four being friends. Roxas is my absolute favorite character, and I loved playing as him in this game. And I love how they gave him exactly what he wanted and deserved in III: to be his own person. Now all we need is for Rokushi to become canon, and I'll die a happy man. Plus, the bit about if Tony ever has a daughter, I took from an actual interview Robert Downey Jr did. But instead of saying he'd be in trouble, he just smiled a knowing smile and said "I have to go." That guy is awesome


	4. Inseparable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas, Xion, and Vanitas begin their new plan on a familiar world, where Vanitas runs into some old friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember one of the rules of Kingdom Hearts: time works weirdly in the different worlds. Ten years could pass in Hollow Bastion or Traverse Town, but maybe months could pass in Olympus Coliseum or Neverland (an actual example from the series). So don't complain about the different times

To help prove that time worked in weird ways between different worlds, Vanitas didn't get a vision about their next mission for two days on Earth 616 after they made their plan. He even checked the status of their world on his vortex manipulator to confirm that the night still hadn't passed for the Organization.

So, to pass the time, Vanitas did some basic stuff around the Tower with Bruce and Tony. First, at his insistence, they got him a Save Rock and Roll CD, which he fell asleep listening to the last two nights. Then, Tony gave him a Samsung smartphone, which he insisted would come in handy down the line.

Once that stuff was out of the way, Vanitas did what he promised he would do last time and acted as a lab assistant for their experiments in the lab. As promised, with his life force gone and not being damaged by any of the dangerous or deadly stuff they did to him. Which led to one odd moment.

Tony and Bruce offered him a concoction that was heavy in the amino acids, that they wanted to see could try to boost metabolism. Vanitas took the liquid like a shot, and they waited for whatever results. After a few seconds, he nodded his head slightly and looked at them from behind the glass.

"I think it's all right," he announced.

No sooner than he said that could he feel something wet on his shirt. Looking down, he saw red spreading across his stomach, which got wider and wider. While at first it looked like his stomach was growing, that proved to be a wrong assumption. His shirt tore open, and his intestines spilled out of the burned out hole in his stomach and hung towards the floor. Vanitas looked up nonchalantly at the two behind their protective glass, who had raised their eyebrows at what happened.

"Needs a little ketchup," Vanitas quipped.

"Too many acids," Tony assessed.

" _Way_ too many acids," Bruce agreed, writing something down on a clipboard.

Luckily, it wasn't anything that couldn't be healed with a Hi-Potion. Vanitas was just glad it was a shirt he wasn't gonna miss.

After that experiment went haywire, Vanitas was there to be the one to test the power of Tony's latest gauntlet and boot blasters for future Iron Man. Apparently, being the test subject himself had started to annoy the man, after he crashed through a number or walls, cars, and floors. Vanitas had to admit, the feeling of the boots and gauntlets with the blasters felt both awesome... and slightly nostalgic.

"I swear I've done this before," Vanitas informed his friends as he blasted a target from across the room.

"Maybe you did," Tony suggested. "But like everything else..."

"I forgot," Vanitas finished for him.

Raising his hand once again, Vanitas prepared himself to blast another surge out of the gauntlet, but then his head decided to be a bitch and start his vision about Roxas. His head was in so much pain he missed the gauntlet firing the blast and hitting him in the face.

Roxas and Xion had successfully talked Saïx into letting them pair up for missions, with a little help from Axel, under the promise that together, they could do the work of three people. So it was a really good thing that Vanitas was gonna be there, anyway. Their first mission together would be to go to the Cave of Wonders in Agrabah and investigate it for possible later use.

 _Good luck with that_ , Vanitas sarcastically thought as the vision ended, giving him back his actual vision.

He opened his eyes to see Tony and Bruce leaning over him, Bruce placing an ice pack on his head where it got hit.

"You all right?" Bruce asked as he took the pack off.

"As 'all right' as I'll ever be," Vanitas commented.

He sat up and removed the gauntlet from his hand, giving it back to Tony.

"I gotta go, they're on the move," Vanitas told them, running to his room to get his stuff.

"For two teenagers that are obviously attracted to each other, they don't have the best timing," Bruce commented.

"No, they do not," Tony agreed, shaking his head slightly.

* * *

A dark corridor appeared near the entrance to the palace, and Roxas and Xion walked through. Vanitas appeared next to Roxas in a flash of light, surprising Xion a bit.

"Does that happen often?" she asked.

"I'm starting to get used to it," Roxas admitted.

"That makes one of us," Vanitas remarked, rubbing the spots out of his eyes.

"So our orders are to investigate a cave this time?" Xion asked, trying to move on, despite the surprise still in her eyes.

"Right," Roxas assured her. "Axel, V, and I found it the last time we were here. There's a hidden entrance in the city."

"I'm wondering how much the architecture changes in these worlds changes so much," Vanitas commented. "Because that's not how we got there when I was here with my other friends."

"Sounds crazy," Xion commented. "But how'd you guys stumble across that?"

"By accident, mostly," Roxas admitted. "We spotted somebody V recognized that was acting fishy, and Axel suggested we tail him."

"And that led you to the cave..." Xion assessed. "Good call on Axel's part. So, you ready to go explore it?"

"Yeah," Roxas informed her. "The hidden door's down that way. C'mon."

They went to the entrance of town and stopped when they found a little monkey dressed nicely cowering at the bottom of the sand dune. The three of them looked down in confusion at the monkey, before he looked up at them in surprise.

"Abu?" Vanitas asked.

The monkey ignored Vanitas and jumped up in surprise at the sight of Roxas and Xion. He turned towards the stands and ran into town.

"That monkey," Roxas said. "I saw him last time, too. You know him?"

"We met once," Vanitas told them. "I wonder if he's still stealing shit."

"Doesn't sound very nice," Xion commented, turning towards the boys.

"Eh, can't blame them for their uprising," Vanitas admitted.

"That's true," Roxas admitted, nodding his head. "Okay, let's head for the cave."

The three of them went through the doorway and went across the dunes to the entrance of the cave, with the giant tiger head. Heartless immediately appeared, but they made quick work of them with their weapons, and Xion blasting some elemental magic to attack. During this, Vanitas grew curious about something he noticed. Xion and Roxas had similar fighting and running styles, from what he noticed so far. And even the ways they cast magic were eerily alike. He put this up to them being in Organization XIII, but stocked the information in his head, just in case.

They entered the entrance cave with many floating pillars in the air from the other day, once again proving Vanitas' point about the architecture changing all the time. They ended up taking out a bit more kinds of Heartless, consisting of living drills, giant thunder rod looking things, pure black bandits holding equally black _khopeshes,_ during which Roxas got to test out what looked like a double jump to Vanitas.

They exited that cavern and they fell through the air onto a square shaped platform with some sign in the center, right in front of them. Taking notice of their surroundings showed them that they were in a gigantic circular chamber with red markings along the black wall from unnoticeable top to unnoticeable bottom. Not seeing any way out, Roxas stepped forwards to examine the sign, but it disappeared before he could try reading what was on it.

"That's never a good sign," Vanitas warned.

He took out his fire axe as Roxas summoned his Keyblade, and the three stood ready in the center. Then the platform suddenly glowed a bright light and disappeared from under them. They fell through the air onto another platform and made quick work of the living bombs. They landed on another platform to some more living bombs and Neoshadows, and Vanitas learned quickly that fire sped up their detonations. Luckily Roxas was able to use it to their advantage and redirect the blast to hurt the Neoshadows instead. Xion finished off one with a blast of Blizzard, and Vanitas finished the other with his axe.

The platform disappeared and took them onto one with a large centaur Heartless holding a long spear. After dodging its spinning weapon attack, Roxas rushed in with a combo while Xion blasted more giant shards of ice. Vanitas then knocked the spear out of the centaur's hand, which helped them keep up their attack without too much trouble. Unfortunately, the platform disappeared before they could do the last attack, so it fell onto the next platform with them. Luckily Xion managed to take it out with a shot of Thunder.

On the latest platform, another centaur appeared with some Neoshadows. Vanitas tackled the centaur aside with a very lucky timed spurt of enhanced strength and they both rolled along the floor of the platform. Roxas fought off the Neoshadows with combo attacks while Vanitas stood up and repeatedly hacked at the centaur with his fire encased axe. With Xion casting spells to help, Roxas took out the Neoshadows with ease, while Vanitas nearly completely took out the centaur before the floor gave out underneath them once again.

They landed on the last platform a bit farther below than usual with a golden statue on each corner, the entrance to a cave below them. The centaur landed with them with two floating mystic women Heartless nearby. The centaur stood up and charged at Vanitas, but he lifted his axe up and chucked it at his head...

Which went flying past its head, deflected onto a golden statue and landed on the floor.

"Oh, fuck," Vanitas said with surprising nonchalant as the centaur got closer.

Then lightning came down and took out the centaur before it could harm him. Vanitas looked towards Xion, who was lowering her hand from in the air.

"Thanks!" Vanitas praised before pulling an MP5 rifle out of his sling.

He turned towards Roxas, who was taking on the mystic women alone. Vanitas fired rapidly at one mystic woman, taking it out. He and Roxas had turned towards the second and both of them raised their weapons to attack. But then ice flew past their heads and took out the last Heartless, finishing the whole thing. They turned towards Xion, who had a proud smile on her face.

"I had it!" both boys whined in disappointment before turning to look at each other, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "No, _I_ had it!"

"Gentlemen," Xion announced. "We can finish this dick measuring contest later. We've got business to attend to."

The platform disappeared below them and they landed in the cave. Roxas and Vanitas looked at each other in thought before they put away their weapons in a silent truce.

"Dude, if you don't suck it up and admit your feelings to her," Vanitas muttered to Roxas. " _I_ might pursue her."

Roxas was both confused by Vanitas' words, and at the same time understood them all as they walked after her into the cave.

It wasn't easy, but they managed to navigate the portion of the cave while dodging falling rocks and taking out Heartless with their plethora of attacks. They navigated the dark corridors and reached a large, circular chamber with a statue of a monkey holding a gem on the opposite side of the room. They walked up to it in curiosity and examined it.

"What's this statue?" Roxas asked, curious.

"It's holding a jewel or something," Xion observed.

"I remember these from last time," Vanitas informed them. "Interacting with them opened doorways deeper into the cave."

"How'd you do it?" Roxas asked.

"I didn't," Vanitas admitted. "That monkey did."

"That's..." Xion said, eyebrows furrowed in curiosity. "Interesting."

"I still don't know how that worked," Vanitas admitted.

"Well, anyway," Xion said, eager to change the subject. "I think that's all we're gonna find down here."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "Even if this thing did something, I don't see any more doors or switches. We must be at the end of the cave."

"So what's the verdict?" Xion asked.

"Let us know, in case it's wrong," Vanitas informed him. "Then I can correct your mistakes."

They chuckled as he pretended to pull out a notebook and write in it.

"I'm not gonna risk it," Roxas chuckled.

"Wimp," Vanitas joked, pretending to put away said fake notebook.

"Well, we searched the cave top to bottom," Roxas remarked. "Let's call it a day and RTC."

"Sounds good to me," Xion admitted.

"Me, too," Vanitas remarked. "I could use a burrito."

"Hey, who are you bozos!?" a scratchy voice announced.

They turned towards the entrance, ready, as Roxas summoned his Keyblade. Pete stood at the entrance, staring at them in shock.

"Pete!" Vanitas announced in slight happiness, knowing it wouldn't be reciprocated. "How ya doing, you big lug? It's been a long time!"

"What are you talking about?" Pete asked with a frown on his confused face. "I've never seen the likes of you before in my life!"

"Oh, you probably don't remember," Vanitas admitted, smile never leaving his face. "For me, it's been ten years. Uh... I'd say it was back in Disney Town. Let's say..." He searched what little memory he had before it came to him, with a little bit of pain on the right side of his head. "...back in the days of Captain Justice?"

Roxas and Xion were confused by his words, but slight realization grew on Pete's face. That realization turned into rage.

"Oh, my bahoozahs, it's you!" Pete exclaimed, pointing at Vanitas, then at Ventus. "You and your little brother who kept poking into business that wasn't yours!" He looked at them with an eyebrow raised. "Your outfits have gotten weirder, though."

"Uh, what?" Roxas asked, standing up and dismissing his Keyblade.

"I've got a friend who looks a lot like you," Vanitas told him, making sure Pete couldn't listen. "We ran into this guy a while back. He was either on drugs, drunk, crazy, or most likely a combination of all three. Like I mentioned earlier, he dressed up like a fucking superhero to try to win a competition."

Roxas and Xion chuckled at the mental image before Pete made his presence known again.

"Here for my magic lamp, are ya?" Pete asked in a slightly cocky manner.

"Magic lamp?" Roxas asked, vaguely remembering Vanitas' words.

"The one with the geisha or the one shoved up your ass?" Vanitas quipped with his hands in his pants pockets.

"Don't try and play dumb with me!" Pete exclaimed, angrily. "You listen up an' listen good! That lamp is official property of Pete; that's me! Ya got it?" During his next words he raised his fists and punched the air. "So you goons can keep your dirty mitts off!"

Vanitas pulled out his aluminum baseball bat and Roxas summoned his Keyblade. Xion and Pete started things off at the same time. Xion started blasting Blizzard at the cat while he rolled a small ball on the ground. Roxas blocked it and sent it back at Pete, en which it exploded when it hit him. Roxas moved in to start a combo attack, but Pete deflected it and slammed his fists into the ground, starting a shockwave that they barely dodged. Vanitas then got in close and hit Pete right in the stomach with his bat. He then swung upwards, hitting him in the chin, before raising it up high and swinging it strongly into the cat's face, knocking him back.

Dodging a few more rolling balls from Pete, Roxas moved in close and used combo attacks on Pete while Vanitas hit him with his bat and Xion blasted him with spells. They smacked him around a bit together while dodging his attacks, which seemed to consist of explosives that looked like toys. Roxas knocked another ball into the cat, which blew up again and knocked him to the side again. Before Pete could get up, Roxas attacked him with Thunder.

Pete then floated up into the air, with a ball of energy surrounding him, announcing, "Look kids, Pete's invincible!" They tried attacking him, but their attacks were deflected off by the energy. Pete slammed his fist into his hand before letting the energy fade and he floated back to the ground. Roxas immediately rushed in and used another combo attack while Vanitas kicked the cat and smacked him with his bat. Pete fell onto the ground and Xion helped things with a blast of Thunder.

When Pete stood back up, he tried punching away Roxas while whining like a child, but Roxas counter attacked and knocked Pete aside with a combo attack. He then shot Blizzard at the cat, which Vanitas followed up with a big ball of fire, which Roxas then finished off by launching up Thunder. They managed to dodge some more attacks while doing their own on the cat. It finally ended when Roxas did one more combo attack that knocked Pete back, making him face Vanitas, who smacked him in the face with his bat, knocking the cat back a bit more.

"Home run!" Vanitas exclaimed in excitement, raising his arms in accomplishment.

Roxas and Xion chuckled at his words before they turned to face Pete, who had his back to the statue. He looked at the three individually with anger and annoyance on his face.

"Rrrrrrgh!..." Pete exclaimed. "Ya puny little punks! First I can't find the dag-blasted lamp, now I gotta deal with these weirdos..." He stomped his feet like an angry child, causing the room to shake. "It just ain't fair!"

"And _you_ ain't acting your age," Vanitas remarked. "Aren't you in your eighties at this point?"

Before Pete could answer, or more likely insult him, a rock fell from the air and hit him in his head. The cat rubbed his head and looked up to see more rocks start to fall as the cave started to shake. Pete jumped up in frightened surprise.

"Zoinks!" the cat exclaimed. "This can't be good! I'm outta here!"

Pete ran past Roxas, Vanitas, and Xion, towards the exit.

"H-hey, wait!" Roxas called after him.

"Come on, Roxas!" Xion informed him. "We can't stay here!"

"Besides, he already probably broke both his balls and isn't any danger to us," Vanitas quipped.

"Yeah, you're right," Roxas remarked, nodding his head. "Hurry!"

They made their way out of the cave and into the desert, in viewing distance of a sandstorm. The three of them leaned forwards slightly with their hands on their knees, tired. They panted in and out before Xion and Vanitas straightened up.

"Whew..." Xion breathed out. "We made it."

"Just barely," Roxas admitted, straightening up himself.

"Why is it every time I enter that cave, I have to exit it as it's collapsing?" Vanitas asked, more to himself and the universe and his friends.

"You have a rough life," Xion commented. "But I take it that was the guy you guys ran into last time?"

"Yeah," Roxas said, looking towards Vanitas. "You said his name is Pete?"

"Yeah," Vanitas said. "Looks like he never found that lamp. So, this world's safe."

"Well, from him, at least," Xion remarked.

"Yeah, there's still a lot of Heartless," Vanitas agreed, causing the three to look down in thought.

Xion looked up again and jumped in surprise.

"Ah!" she exclaimed. "Roxas, behind you!"

"Huh?" Roxas asked as he and Vanitas looked behind the blonde.

"Aaack!" Roxas exclaimed in surprise as they saw a floating carpet raised in the air like it was standing up facing them. "What...what am I looking at?"

"Carpet!" Vanitas exclaimed, his happiness genuine this time. He looked at his friends before looking at the carpet again. "Don't worry, this guy's actually a friend this time. Carpet, haven't seen you in a while. How've you been?" He paused. "I just remembered you don't talk."

The three laughed at Vanitas' own expense, Roxas and Xion still a little surprise.

"It... doesn't seem hostile," Roxas observed as Carpet leaned forwards a bit at the blonde.

"I think it likes you," Xion observed, smile on her face.

"I wonder why," Vanitas smirked, remembering how Roxas was connected to Sora.

"Figure that one out," Roxas admitted, looking at the Carpet.

"Yeah, figure that one out!" a happy voice exclaimed, garnering their attentions.

"Yaaagh!" Roxas exclaimed in surprise at the sight of the floating blue skinned man in front of them.

Both Roxas and Xion jumped back slightly in surprise at the man, but Vanitas instantly smiled.

"Genie!" he exclaimed, raising his arms at the man.

"Vanitas!" Genie exclaimed, raising his own arms.

The two embraced in a friendly hug, during which Genie lifted Vanitas up with surprising ease.

"Man, I forget how powerful you are," Vanitas admitted as the man placed him back on the ground.

"Phenomenal cosmic power, V," Genie reminded him. "Just in a more free package."

"Uh..." Xion remarked. "Not to interrupt, but, wh-who are you!?"

"Who am I?" Genie asked in shock. "You want to know who I am!?"

"Y-yes?" Xion asked with uncertainty.

"Vanitas, don't you tell your friends anything?" Genie asked.

"I do," Vanitas informed him. "I'm just bad at it."

"Well all right, then!" Genie announced, looking towards Roxas and Xion. "One personal introduction, coming right up!" As he said his next words, the sound of fanfare originated from... somewhere. "The name's Genie Formerly-Of-The-Lamp... but call me by my first name, kids!" The fanfare started again as he gestured to the carpet. "And this is my good friend, the Magic Carpet! Nice to meetcha!"

Roxas jumped in surprise as Genie raised his large hand up to him.

"Uh, y-yeah..." Roxas said with some uncertainty. "Likewise."

"Hey, come ON now, you can do better than that!" Genie exclaimed in exasperation. "I mean, why so glum? Feeling a little blue? Believe me, I can relate."

"No doubt," Roxas commented, hiding his smirk.

"So, uh, who are you kids?" Genie asked.

"Errr, we're..." Roxas muttered, looking down in thought.

"Psst!" Xion whispered to Roxas. "Roxas, change the subject!"

"We're uh..." Roxas said as he and Xion looked back up at Genie. He thought, _Change it to WHAT?_

 _Tell him your travelers,_ Vanitas thought, which Roxas heard, making him jump. Then he remembered that power Vanitas mentioned before.

"Me, I was just swinging by Agrabah to check in..." Genie told them. "When, all of a sudden, Carpet here decides to put the tassel to the metal and take off! Says he spotted some friends."

"Friends, plural?" Roxas asked, looking at the carpet. "V, I get. But is the other one me?"

"I know, crazy isn't it?" Genie asked. "I tag along ready to reminisce about old times... but I have no idea in the cosmos who you are! But at least I see V man once again!"

He patted Vanitas on the shoulder, causing him to smirk.

"You sure this other guy is a friend of ours, Rugman?" Genie asked the carpet.

The carpet made a nodding motion.

"Anyway, uh..." Roxas said, finding a good base to change the subject. "Agrabah is that city over there, right?"

"That's the once!" Genie announced with glee. "My buddy Al's hometown. Why, when we first met, Al and I were inseparable..."

He trailed off in slight nostalgia. This caused Vanitas to grow his own nostalgia based off what little memory he still had.

"Just like me and Ven," he muttered to himself.

"Inseparable?" Roxas asked, not missing the sadness in his friend's voice.

"Yep!" Genie confirmed as Carpet flew in an arc behind him. "Until Carpet and I took off on a well deserved vacation. What you might call a mini world tour. But we got to worrying about how Al was doing..." He looked down in slight sadness before perking back up. "...so we figured we'd pop back in to check up on him."

"Why were you worried?" Roxas asked. "Is there something to be worried about?"

"Well, sure!" Genie announced. "It's only natural to worry about your friends."

"He's not wrong," Vanitas commented.

"I worried about how things were going with Jasmine, how the city was holding up..." Genie continued. "And once I get something on my mind, I can't knock it out- tried everything: dynamite, sledgehammers, tweezers..."

"Well, I don't know about anybody named Al, but..." Xion started to say. "The city's in rough shape. They've been fixing it up."

"Right, they keep getting hit by sandstorms," Roxas added.

"What!?" Genie exclaimed in shock. "Why do these things always happen the minute I leave town!?"

"I think that's a common thing for the desert," Vanitas commented.

"Still..." Genie said, looking up in thought. "All right, stand back! A little magic, and I'll have this place whipped back into shape!"

"Your friend Al said this isn't a job for magic," Roxas interjected.

"He what!?" Genie exclaimed in even more shock.

"He said the people living there should be the ones to fix it up," Roxas explained.

"That's admirable," Vanitas admitted, nodding his head.

"Oh..." Genie sighed out, looking down, then back up. "Well, if that's Al's final word, I guess that's that."

"You're not going to help out?" Roxas asked.

"Al said no magic, right?" Genie asked. "I'd love to just fix the place, but even a genie's got to respect his friend's wishes."

"Hmm..." Roxas muttered with a hand on his chin. "I guess so."

"We should get back guys," Xion informed Roxas and Vanitas.

"Yeah," Roxas agreed, nodding his head at her.

"While he's distracted," Vanitas muttered to his friend, powering up his vortex manipulator.

"Still, I doubt he'd mind a teensy-weensy speck of help!" Genie announced.

He turned towards the sandstorm raging across the desert and raised a hand, ready. He pointed that hand at the storm and purple light shot out. Within seconds, the sandstorm disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"There we go," Genie announced. "Now the city's safe! And with _that_ out of the way..." He turned towards where the three had stood. "Enough stalling; who are you two?"

He jumped in surprise, seeing that Roxas, Xion, and Vanitas were all gone from sight, nowhere around the desert.

"Okay, forget 'who'," Genie decided in shock. " _Where_ are you two!?"

* * *

They ended up beating Axel to the clock tower. Roxas, Xion, and Vanitas sat in their usual spots, munching on ice cream bars while watching the sunset.

"Hey, mission go okay?" Axel asked, signifying his arrival, garnering their attentions.

"Yeah, I think it's gonna work..." Xion sighed out. "Thanks, Axel. You, Roxas, and V are the best."

"We try," Axel said smugly with a nod of his head.

"Some of us better than others," Vanitas remarked with a smirk as Axel walked past them and sat in his spot.

He took out his own ice cream bar and joined in on munching their bars while watching the sunset.

"So where'd they end up sending you?" Axel asked.

"That place you, me, and V went before..." Roxas started to explain. "Uhh, what was it again..."

"Agrabah," Vanitas and Xion both answered.

"Oh, that city in the desert," Axel assessed.

"We sure ran into some interesting characters this time, huh?" Xion asked.

"You mean Pete and Genie?" Roxas asked.

"Well, they were more a combination of interesting and weird," Vanitas commented, at which Roxas nodded his head in agreement.

"Genie sounded really worried about his friend," Xion assessed. "Some guy named Al. But, I guess you can't always jump in and do everything for your friends; even if you want to."

"I know the feeling," Vanitas admitted, in slight nostalgia.

"That's right, though," Axel remarked. "People need their space."

"So then, why did Genie say he and Al were 'inseparable'?" Roxas asked, turning to look at him.

"Yeah, it's not like they were joined at the hip," Xion commented.

Vanitas chuckled at how literal they took everything.

"Well, I think you can be inseparable even if you're apart," Axel told them.

"Really?" Roxas asked.

"Sure, if you feel really close to each other," Axel told them. "If you're best friends."

"Like me and Ven," Vanitas sighed out, with more nostalgia.

While they were waiting for Axel, Vanitas and Roxas had caught Xion up on the hardships that Vanitas had gone through, from his lost friends to his missing powers and memories. He had explained to both of them of his missing old friends, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, and how he didn't remember how they disappeared. They understood quickly that Ventus was more of a closer friend to him than Terra and Aqua, and understood a bit of the sadness he felt when he missed him.

But Vanitas decided to leave out the bit about Ventus looking exactly like Roxas. Partly because he didn't know how to casually incorporate that into conversation without freaking them out, partly because given Roxas' recent behavior, he probably wouldn't react to it too well.

"So best friends are different from plain friends, right?" Xion assessed.

"They're about the same," Axel admitted.

"Best friends, huh..." Roxas commented.

"But I'd say best friends are a notch above just plain friends," Axel explained, pointing what was left of his ice cream at them.

"So how are they different?" Roxas asked.

"I don't know," Axel admitted. "I couldn't tell ya because I don't have any best friends."

"I see..." Roxas said, looking forwards at the susnet in slight sadness.

"I can," Vanitas announced, slapping Axel in the back of the head, as he had caused Roxas' sadness. "For one thing, best friends are people you've known a lot longer than your usual friends. You'd do anything for them, and they'd do anything for you. You're... like Genie said, inseparable. While you guys separate every once in a while, you make sure to stay together as often as you guys can. You care about each other in a way that's stronger than most people do. You're... well, there's no better way to say it: you're friends."

Roxas and Xion smiled slightly in understanding at his words, and they all turned to look at the sunset together in comfortable silence. After a few seconds, Vanitas decided to break it.

"You guys wanna hear about this one family Thanksgiving where a goat appeared at the dinner table?" he asked.

The three turned towards him, interest in their eyes. Xion had an eyebrow raised while Axel smirked slightly.

"I'll take that as a yes," Vanitas laughed. "Okay, it all started when my crazy Uncle Tobias decided to open a petting zoo..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I was gonna add this the other day, but power went out in my house, which took out the wifi. And then it took so long today because I forgot and got distracted by other stuff on this site. I made it clear a chapter or two ago, I'm a huge Doctor Who/Clara Oswald fan. And I hope I get a chance to show that later on


	5. Beast's Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a new mission, Roxas, Vanitas, and Xion look around Beast's castle, and Vanitas learns a few details about his old ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter one, because the video of the Timeline encompasses multiple missions instead of just one, so it offers me a bit of relief. Man, were those last few chapters a lot longer than I expected

Luckily the group on Earth 616 was good at having fun as much as they did work. After they did their missions, Vanitas, Tony, and Bruce would take turns playing video games together on the gigantic television in the designated Game Room. It allowed great graphics, especially since they played Resident Evil 5 today. But since Bruce was new to the game series, they had to make sure he didn't get too frightened and accidentally Hulk Out.

Luckily Vanitas' vision of his friends finally decided to have good timing and not flash up until his turn was over. He passed the controller back to Tony, and went to grab his gear. Setting the coordinates for Beast's Castle into his vortex manipulator, he pressed the button and appeared in a corridor with Roxas and Xion.

"We have to investigate this castle today, right?" Xion asked.

"Right," Roxas confirmed, nodding his head.

"We'd better be careful not to let anybody here see us," Xion informed them.

"Well, you guys," Vanitas remarked. "I know someone here."

"I guess," Roxas agreed.

"You guess?" Xion asked.

"Well, the last time we were here, the place seemed deserted," Roxas informed her. "All I heard was... never mind."

"What?" Xion asked.

"I heard this roar," Roxas told her. "Like an animal... a big one. But V claims it's that person he knows."

"You know someone who can roar like an animal?" Xion asked.

"It's a long story," Vanitas admitted.

"We might see him today," Roxas told him. "You wanna stop to say 'hi'?"

"Nah, I promised I'd come back with some of my other friends," Vanitas admitted. "And I don't feel like explaining where they are."

"Gotcha," Xion said. "Well, let's get started."

They moved into the entrance hall and pretty quickly ran into Heartless. Luckily they had no trouble taking out the Commanders, possessed statues, and Neoshadow with their respective weapons, and moved on to the ballroom. That's where they ran into trouble.

They stood in the center of the room and were surrounded by three centaur Heartless, and two that looked like spiked balls. The Heartless quickly tried surrounding them, but Roxas managed to protect himself a bit with Reflect, while Xion blasted spells, and Vanitas blocked attacks with his sledgehammer. When he was done blocking, Roxas attempted to use a combo attack, but got knocked back instead. Xion used a Hi-Potion on him while Vanitas fired an MP5 rifle at the centaurs with his opposite hand.

They quickly figured that the living spiked balls was that they had a nasty jump in the air and ground pound attack. Vanitas knocked one aside with his hammer while Roxas used a special move to knock the other one hard into the ground. They managed to take out one spiked ball, and used some skill to take out the other ball and two centaurs. Twice, Roxas got knocked back by the last centaur's spinning spear attack, so Vanitas avenged his friend with his rifle. They destroyed the last Heartless after a few more attacks from all three of the group.

Putting their weapons away, the three of them exited the ballroom and entered the west hallway. They walked through one hallway but stopped when they heard a voice around the corner to the adjacent hallway.

"The master is in quite an unfortunate mood today," a french accented voice announced.

"Guys!" Xion softly exclaimed.

"I heard it, too," Roxas told her.

"Same," Vanitas confirmed.

They went to the wall, Roxas and Vanitas peeked around the corner, and were incredibly surprised. A small candelabra had hopped forwards a bit.

"If only he would leave his chambers..." the french accent came from the candelabra.

"Are we high?" Vanitas muttered to Roxas as they watched the candelabra hop forwards a bit more.

"I don't think so," Roxas told him.

"What did you see?" Xion asked.

They looked at her, eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

"Would you believe... a walking, talking candelabra?" Roxas asked with uncertainty.

"Oh, come on..." Xion said in slight exasperation.

She looked past them, and they watched her eyes widen in surprise. Leaning back to hide, she looked directly at them.

"Whoa, you weren't kidding," Xion commented. "But...how can it..."

"Beats me," Roxas said with his hand on his chin in thought. "But it did mention something about a master."

"I don't remember my friend mentioning _this_ ," Vanitas commented. "But a master, that sounds interesting."

"So you guys figure it's one of the castle's servants?" Xion asked.

"Sounds crazy," Roxas admitted. "But... maybe."

Once the candelabra hopped out of sight, Soldiers appeared above them in the hallway behind the three and landed, ready for blood. They managed to take the three soldiers easily, but then a Commander took its place. It seemed that the hallway had an infestation of Soldiers and Commanders, because the further they went into the room, the more of them appeared. They took out a lot of these Heartless as they went through the hallway, but the stairs, and into the West Wing.

They entered the West Wing and were immediately bombarded by possessed statues. They fought through multiple statues, living hammer Heartless, and at least one Commander. Like usual, it took them a while to destroy the Heartless, but they got the job done. They walked up to the end of the Wing to find a set of double doors, with one creaked open slightly.

"Think this is the master's room?" Roxas asked.

"Certainly looks like it," Vanitas commented.

The loud roar that the boys remembered from last time originated from the other side of the doors, startling all three of them.

"Graaauuuggghhh!" a yell came out after the roar.

"Wh-what was that?" Xion asked, nervously.

"Maybe just barging in is a bad idea," Roxas commented.

"If that's the guy I remember, then that'd be a _really_ bad idea," Vanitas agreed.

"Can you get a look at what's going on inside from here?" Xion asked.

Roxas nodded his head, and he and Vanitas creeped up to the door. Roxas crouched down a bit, and the two of them looked through the creaked open door to see the inside of the room. In the slightly busted up room, they saw a table across from the door, containing a glass case with a rose floating inside. And staring at that rose, with his back to the door, was his Vanitas' old friend, Beast.

_Wh-what IS that thing!?_ Roxas thought, which Vanitas heard.

_That would be my old friend, Beast,_ Vanitas thought, which Roxas heard.

"Graaaaaaugh!" Beast yelled again. "How dare she not join me for dinner!" Vanitas raised an eyebrow in curiosity at that. "This is _my_ castle! And it is _my_ wish!"

_"My Castle?" Is he serious?_ Roxas thought.

_Apparently. I don't remember him saying he owned a castle_ , Vanitas thought.

They turned away from the door and looked back at Xion.

"Well, guys?" Xion asked.

"There was a... weird monster inside," Roxas told her.

They stepped out of the way, and let her walk towards the door herself. She peeked inside, and they watched her jump slightly in surprise. She backed away from the door and looked at the boys.

"Whoa..." Xion breathed out. "What is he?"

"Apparently this is V's friend," Roxas told her.

"Get away from the door, though," Vanitas told her. "He's a little unstable, and I don't want him to see you guys and think you're bad."

She nodded, and they stepped away from the door a bit.

"It sounds like this castle belongs to him," Roxas informed Xion.

"You think!?" Xion exclaimed in surprise.

"He called this place 'my castle'," Vanitas told her. "It doesn't get much clearer than that."

"Ah, then I guess he's he must be the beast," Xion said. "Beast's Castle? Makes sense."

"I probably should have figured that out when I learned this place's name," Vanitas commented. "He's called Beast."

"Is he fighting the Heartless, like us?" Xion asked, her and Roxas looking at him.

"Oh, yeah, we did plenty of that together," Vanitas told them. "He smashed through walls pretty easily, giving us new pathways around. We took care of plenty of Heartless."

"Then the gashes in the walls must have happened in the process," Xion assessed.

They had noticed multiple scratch marks in the walls on their way up here, in the entrance hallway and in this Wing.

"Yeah, he wasn't always careful with where he aimed his slashes," Vanitas admitted.

"A beast with his own castle and a candelabra for a servant..." Xion assessed.

"This place must have quite a story behind it," Roxas commented.

"Well, you're not wrong," Vanitas commented.

"Well, we know what the master looks like now," Xion announced. "I think we can report back to Saïx now."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed.

"Let's hurry back," Vanitas told them. "I got a video game I gotta get back to."

They made their way back to their respective bases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not much, but that's how some of these go. If I did a chapter for every episode of the Timeline, they would all be INCREDIBLY long! And I am NOT up for THAT.


	6. Hearts and Nobodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group continues their plan and good times, despite Vanitas' growing wariness towards the Organization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still trying to figure out when to have Roxas and Vanitas end up in The Winter Soldier. I know it has to be later on so that it's in 2014, when the movie takes place, and at the moment, it's still 2013 on Earth 616. Plus, it'll have to be a mission where Roxas is "on his own," so not one at the moment where he's paired with Xion

After multiple missions with Roxas and Xion, and multiple days in between with hanging out with Tony and Bruce, Vanitas sure was getting closer to his friends. With Roxas and Xion, he was able to share experiences with being a Keyblade wielder, Heartless fighter, and missing important parts of his being. And with Tony and Bruce, they got to share experiences of being heroes. The similar tastes in music between Tony and Vanitas also helped things.

Another day approached, and Vanitas had a dream involving the Organization as a whole. They all gathered on the top of the castle, the nine of them; Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Saïx, Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Roxas, and Xion. The nine of them were staring up at the night sky, preparing for... something.

"The time has arrived," Xemnas announced. He raised his arms up as a large, Heart shaped moon appeared in the sky. "And at long last, we see before us the great collection of hearts. Hearts full of rage...hate...sadness...and bliss. Shining down upon us is the crystallization of hearts: Kingdom Hearts. There, in the sky, hangs the promise of a new world."

He lowered his arms and turned towards them.

"My friends!" Xemnas announced. "Let us gain further power, to conquer the human heart, and claim it as our own. Let us remember why we are here and what we hope to achieve. Hearts shall be gathered, and be made our own. Hearts shall never again have power over us."

During his rant, the others in the Organization watched him intently as they took in his words. Once he was done, they gazed up at the moon intently.

Vanitas gasped awake with sweat pouring down his head in shock. He went into the dining room and joined Tony and Bruce. He filled them in on what he saw over eggs and sausage.

"But you feel there's something more sinister going on with Mansex and Kingdom Hearts?" Tony asked.

"Exactly," Vanitas agreed. "I mean, I get them wanting to get their own hearts. But why do they need Kingdom Hearts for that?"

"That's a good question," Bruce pointed out. "Like you told us, Kingdom Hearts is a culmination of a lot of hearts gathered together. So why do they need so many if there's only thirteen of them?"

"Moreover, why thirteen?" Vanitas asked. "Organization XIII, thirteen people without hearts. I mean, they could get it a lot faster with more than that. But why stop at thirteen? And moreover, how can the use of Kingdom Hearts just casually give thirteen people their own hearts? There's gotta be something more to it than that."

"I'd try asking Axel," Tony suggested. "He may or may not know more than he says. And if he doesn't, see if he holds any suspicions towards what the Organization has planned."

"It's the only lead I got," Vanitas admitted, swallowing his last bite of egg. "I'll look in to that before the clock tower. Anyway, I better get going. Don't wanna leave them hanging."

"Good luck," Bruce called as he and Tony waved "bye."

The vortex manipulator took Vanitas to Beast's Castle again, where he appeared in the West Wing with Roxas and Xion.

"The Heartless we're after are called Neoshadows, right?" Roxas asked Xion. "I hope we don't wind up searching all day.

"We've encountered them before," Vanitas pointed out. "They should be easy to find."

"Let's head out through this hall," Xion agreed.

They exited the Wing and stood on the staircase, noticing the living candelabra in the center of the room.

"Surely there must be some way to get Belle and the master to forgive each other..." he muttered to himself before turning and hopping away.

"It's that candelabra," Xion pointed out.

"Yeah, the one we saw before," Roxas agreed.

"If they don't..." the candelabra continued. "I shall be a table decoration forever! No... I will speak to Mademoiselle Belle. Perhaps she can talk some sense into him..."

"Belle is here?" Vanitas muttered in confusion. "And she and Beast are having problems? *Huff* You'd think after everything on Hollow Bastion they'd be married by now."

"I don't get it," Roxas informed his friends. "The candelabra doesn't want to be a candelabra?"

"So this Belle person lives here in the castle," Xion assessed.

"He said something about getting her and the master to forgive each other," Roxas informed them. "I guess they've been arguing."

"Which surprises me," Vanitas told them. "Since the last time I saw those two, they seemed matched."

"She'd have to be pretty brave to stand up to a beast like that," Xion commented.

"You're assuming Belle's human," Roxas assessed.

"She is," Vanitas confirmed.

"But so far, nobody else seems to be," Roxas pointed out.

"I don't know what's up," Vanitas admitted. "I haven't spent that much time on this world."

"Well, we're not here to worry about her," Roxas decided. "Let's find the Heartless we're after."

They moved through the hallway and undercroft, taking out Heartless along the way. During which, Roxas showed who he cared for more when both he and Xion were low on health and used a Hi-Potion to heal Xion. Xion returned the favor with Cure, and they kept fighting. But the two of them doing stuff like that for each other and somehow not admitting how they felt for each other irritated Vanitas to no end.

They moved on to a secret passage way, where they went up a hallway and staircase up onto a ledge. This ledge could make them fall back into that hallway if they weren't careful. They stopped just below the highest point, and turned to see two Neoshadows appear near them.

"Roxas, up there!" Xion exclaimed.

"Let's take them out!" Roxas exclaimed.

Vanitas drew his machete and slashed at one Neoshadow before both of them did horizontal spin attacks towards the three. These attacks were stronger than those of the Neoshadows they met previously, and knocked Xion unconscious. Roxas used another Hi-Potion on her before they pressed the attack. Roxas managed to start a combo attack on one, but they had to move to block the continued spin attacks. They had to move quickly to dodge because of the crazy spin attacks from both Heartless.

Roxas managed to surround himself with Reflect, and when the counter flared, Xion and Vanitas helped by blasting fire at the two Heartless. Xion distracted one with Blizzard while Roxas used a special attack to knock the other into the air with his Keyblade in a spinning attack. Vanitas helped fight the one Xion was dealing with by putting it into a headlock and stabbing in right in the chest with his machete. When it tried wriggling out, he surrounded its head in fire and just twisted the machete, eventually taking it out.

Roxas and Xion, meanwhile, ended up on the staircase just beneath the ledge, with Roxas still dodging the Neoshadow's attacks while Xion fired out spell after spell. Vanitas held his machete back handed and raised it up. Aiming carefully, he threw blade at the Heartless, getting it right in the back. While it writhed in pain, Roxas used one more combo attack to completely destroy it, ending the fight.

"Mission accomplished," Xion informed the boys.

They put away their weapons and got out of their battle stances.

"Yeah," Roxas agreed, smiling at her.

"We make quite a team," Vanitas assessed.

"Ready to head back?" Xion asked. "We can stop for ice cream and-"

She was interrupted when two more Neoshadows appeared behind them.

"Huh!?" Roxas exclaimed in surprise.

The sound of the Beast's roar made them move to hide. And just in time. Beast had leaped out from nowhere and slashed the two Neoshadows, destroying them before he leaped onto the lower levels and breathed out.

"The Heartless do not belong here; not in my castle!" Beast yelled out, though they didn't know to who.

They watched as Beast sighed out, shook his head, and walked away.

"Whoa..." Xion said in surprise.

"Just like I thought," Vanitas announced. "He's been taking out the Heartless. He just hasn't exactly been the most safe, thus, the scratches on the walls."

"Once again, you were right," Xion assessed.

"When am I not?" Vanitas asked with a slight chuckle.

"Guess this castle plays by different rules then ours," Roxas commented.

"What do you mean?" Xion asked.

"That beast is the master here, right?" Roxas asked.

"Correct," Vanitas told him as he and Xion nodded their heads.

"And Xemnas is our master, right?" Roxas asked.

"Morbid assessment, but yeah," Vanitas told him as Xion nodded her head again, uncertainty growing on her face.

"But if Heartless showed up in our castle, we'd be the ones to get rid of them, not Xemnas," Roxas pointed out.

"Well, yeah," Xion said. "That's our job."

"Exactly," Roxas admitted. "I figured it worked like that everywhere. I thought that's what being a master meant. After all, he's got servants here. He shouldn't have to fight."

"That's a dumb philosophy," Vanitas told him. "But I'll chalk it up to you not knowing much about this stuff. The way that things work between a master and a servant work differently between people. If a master is specially skilled to fight and his servants aren't, then he'd fight to protect his servants. And if the servants are more skilled to fight, it'd be vice versa. It's a complex relationship of people working together to protect each other."

"That sounds nice enough," Xion admitted. She looked at Roxas. "But I don't know that I'd call us Xemnas's servants, exactly..." She looked towards where they last saw Beast. "But you're right. If he's taking the Heartless on himself, he must have a good reason."

"Like what?" Roxas asked.

"I've got a theory," Vanitas told them, remembering how determined the man was back on Hollow Bastion to protect Belle.

"Maybe he has something he wants to protect," Xion suggested.

"Or _someone_ ," Vanitas suggested, confusing them a bit. "We all have people in our lives that... we'd do anything to protect. We'd fight a war on our own just to make sure that they're safe." He looked off in nostalgia in thought. "We'd do anything to make sure they're safe."

Roxas and Xion took in his words with their eyes widened slightly. They both thought about his words and who they would do anything to protect. The two of them were so engrossed in thought that they didn't even notice their own fingers start to brush together. And when they did, they looked down, looked up at each other, and separated with a slight pinkness to their cheeks.

"Let's call it a day, guys," Xion announced to try to shake off the burning of her cheeks. "Axel's probably waiting."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Roxas agreed, a little too quickly for Vanitas' liking.

Bracing himself for a headache, Vanitas tried to take control of his mental telepathy to hear their thoughts. With a slight nosebleed, he heard the reactions they had from their hands, the surprise, embarrassment, yet longing for more.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," Vanitas muttered to himself as he followed them back to their dark corridor.

* * *

They made it to the clock tower in Twilight Town, where, indeed, Axel was waiting for them in his usual spot. He was munching on his ice cream bar and looked up at the sound of them walking through the entrance.

"Hey, you three," Axel greeted them. "How'd work go? Think you can keep pulling off 'double' duty?"

"So far, so good," Roxas informed him.

"Roxas and V took out today's Heartless in no time flat," Xion announced.

"Easy as pie," Vanitas remarked.

"Well, great," Axel congratulated them. "Keep it up."

The three younger ones got into their usual spots for sitting and produced their own bars of Sea Salt ice cream.

"All this fighting..." Roxas eventually sighed out. "I wonder what it's for."

"I ask myself that every day," Vanitas admitted, taking a bite out of his own ice cream bar.

"Come on, you know what it's for," Axel informed the blonde. "We have to complete the great Kingdom Hearts. You saw it, too, didn't you?"

"But what is Kingdom Hearts?" Roxas asked, looking at Xion.

"It's the gathering place of hearts... isn't it?" Xion guessed.

"Your Kingdom Hearts is," Vanitas informed them. "The usual Kingdom Hearts is much grander and huge. Like, the size of a world."

"Ours is where all the hearts wind up after they're released by you guys," Axel informed them. "When we gather enough, we might finally get hearts of our own."

"Hearts shall be made our own..." Xion sighed out, looking down.

"Is Kingdom Hearts really that important?" Roxas asked.

"Are you crazy?" Axel asked.

"I just don't see why having a heart is that important, you know," Roxas admitted.

"Come on, you're wondering about that now?" Axel asked.

"Well, I don't understand, since I don't have a heart," Roxas admitted, looking down.

"Roxas..." Xion said.

"We'll understand once we have our own hearts," Axel told his friends. "That's why we fight, to find out what it's about."

"Okay..." Roxas said in a more understanding voice as he looked up at Axel. "I guess you're right."

"You wanna know what I'm curious about?" Vanitas asked.

"What?" Axel asked.

"How does a whole bunch of hearts gathered together give you guys your own hearts?" Vanitas asked. "I mean, I understand your Kingdom Hearts is a gathering of all the lost hearts claimed by the Heartless and all... but how does gathering them together give you guys your own hearts?"

The three Organization members were taken aback by this, just now realizing the severity of his question on their own. Curiosity grew on their faces as they realized they didn't know the answer to his question.

"I'm sure..." Axel started to say. "We'll find out once we get there."

"Yeah," Roxas and Xion said, nodding their heads in agreement, though Vanitas could see the uncertainty growing in their eyes.

"All right," Vanitas sighed out, taking another bite of his ice cream bar.

The next day took the trio back to Agrabah, where they took out many Heartless. They finished it pretty quickly and made it to the clock tower in very little time.

"Another successful day?" Axel asked as they sat in their places.

"Of course!" Roxas confirmed, nodding his head. "Where'd they send you, Axel?"

"The place you guys hit yesterday," Axel informed them.

"You mean the castle with the talking candelabra?" Xion asked.

"Beast's castle," Vanitas reiterated.

"That's the one," Axel confirmed. "They needed me to do a little digging through the dust and cobwebs. How 'bout you?"

"Heart collection in Agrabah," Roxas told him. "Same as usual."

"You're really getting the hang of working together, huh?" Axel asked.

"I don't know how much longer we can fool the other members, though," Xion sighed out, looking out at the sunset.

"Relax, we'll be fine," Roxas assured her.

"Don't be so sure," Axel commented. "They're not stupid."

"You sure about that?" Vanitas asked, eyebrow raised.

"Guess we'll just have to cross our fingers," Xion commented.

"Well, maybe Saïx and Xigbar are tough to fool, but come on; Demyx?" Roxas asked, smiling.

"Ouch!" Axel laughed. "Roxas, that's not cool."

"But look at him!" Roxas insisted. "All he does is play his sitar all the time."

"I don't think you give him enough credit," Axel remarked. "He works just as hard as..."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow in a cocky manner as Axel trailed off.

"Okay, no he doesn't," Axel admitted. "But I'm pretty sure he has a job."

"You know, I've seen Demyx out in the field, rocking out on that sitar of his," Xion informed them.

"What does that accomplish?" Roxas asked, smile still on his face.

"Jack shit," Vanitas announced, smile on his face.

"Hey, for all you know, he's out there fighting Heartless and doing recon; just the same as you," Axel told them.

"But I've heard him say he wasn't cut out for combat," Roxas told them. "It looks like every Nobody in the Organization is good at different things."

"That's right," Axel commented. "Everybody's unique."

"Even Nobodies without hearts?" Xion asked.

"Just because we don't all have hearts doesn't mean that we're all exactly the same," Axel told them.

"Nice to see that keeps up even with that unique problem," Vanitas commented.

"We each have memories of our pasts," Axel continued, poking his head with his free hand to emphasize his point.

"Memories?" Xion asked, as if she didn't understand the concept.

"You remember your past?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, that's one of the things that makes each member of the Organization special," Axel told them. "We remember who we were as humans."

"But I don't," Roxas admitted, looking down in sadness.

"Me, neither," Xion admitted, doing the same.

 _I think I understand why with Roxas_ , Vanitas thought, which Axel heard. _Since Sora became a Somebody again pretty soon after losing his heart, that means he's still around. His human form is still alive, so his Nobody can't access his old memories._

 _That sounds like a plausible explanation,_ Axel thought.

"Well, maybe that right there is what makes you guys the most unique in the Organization," Axel informed the two.

"What were you like before you were a Nobody?" Roxas asked, looking at Axel.

"Huh?" Axel asked in confusion. "Me?"

Axel looked forwards and Vanitas saw the flashback his redheaded friend was having. He saw Axel as a young boy back in Hollow Bastion, and holding a familiar wooden Keyblade. He gave the toy back to Ventus, and pulled out some weird looking frisbees. He introduced himself as Lea, and asked, "Got it memorized?"

 _You've been saying that for ten years?_ Vanitas thought, which Axel heard.

"Oh, I dunno," Axel lied. "I think I've always been pretty much the same."

"You were a stoner, weren't you?" Vanitas asked.

Axel shook it off and looked back at Roxas and Xion.

"I wish I could remember stuff like that," Roxas sighed out.

"Really?" Axel asked. "It's just baggage, you know."

"To you, maybe," Vanitas muttered, taking another bite of his bar.

"But I...I can't remember anything," Roxas announced. "Not even from when I was born a Nobody."

"All you did was stare into space!" Axel remarked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, thanks!" Roxas exclaimed.

All four of them laughed at that.

"You know, I don't remember much, either," Xion admitted.

"You two sure do have a lot in common," Axel commented.

Roxas and Xion made eye contact for a second before they looked up at the sky.

"Why don't you two idiots just get a clue?" Vanitas muttered.

"I wonder what kind of guy I was before..." Roxas said in thought.

Vanitas smirked at the very obvious difference between Roxas and the person he was before, Sora.

But once he was back in Avengers Tower on Earth 616, Vanitas gripped his head as a new vision started. Naminé and DiZ had arrived at the haunted mansion outside of Twilight Town, and DiZ started writing a report about events. DiZ pointed out that Sora needed a safe place to rest, so he convinced Naminé to move the process to the mansion in the town. But he also reported that Naminé was a unique Nobody because she was born out of Kairi losing her heart, and Sora releasing Kairi's heart from himself back in Hollow Bastion.

"Wait," Vanitas muttered. "Does that make Naminé Sora and Kairi's... Never mind. Too weird."

But something that Vanitas was curious about was that DiZ finished the report by saying he had a new ally in Riku. What did he need Riku for, and why did Vanitas have a feeling it wasn't for something pleasant?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suspicions are a-growing!


	7. Xion's Keyblade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After weeks of working together, the quartet of friends finally get some results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember, the first time I played this mission, I could tell immediately how it was gonna end based off of that title. Of course, I didn't imagine THIS was how it was gonna go. Still makes me laugh

"...long story short, the goat ended up sleeping in my bed for a week!" Vanitas exclaimed while laughing.

Tony and Bruce burst out laughing at the final bit, trying desperately to not accidentally knock their breakfast off of the table. Vanitas had just been regaling them with the infamous "goat at Thanksgiving" story. He was delighted to learn that it didn't matter who he told it to, it always ended with people erupting in laughter.

"The worst part was that he kept trying to French me every night while I was trying to sleep," Vanitas admitted.

"Oh, _man!_ " Tony exclaimed, covering his mouth as he laughed.

"How?" Bruce asked, raising his hands in curiosity as he laughed. "Just, how was he able to get a freaking goat to tap dance to the beat of 'The Way You Look Tonight'?"

"He just had _way_ too much free time on his hands," Vanitas remarked, laughing.

As they continued to eat their breakfast, they had to fight to stop themselves from choking as they continued to laugh from the story. Eventually, they managed to finish eating their meal and moved on to testing inventions. Vanitas continued to be a worthy lab rat and got knocked around as he tested the thrusters for the next Iron Man suit. He was thankful that he couldn't feel anything, because his head ended up causing a massive, head shaped dent in a nearby metal wall.

This time, it was once the testing was finished that he had a vision of his latest mission with Roxas and Xion.

Saïx informed the two that two separate giant Heartless had surfaced, one in Beast's Castle, and one in Agrabah, and they needed to split up to handle them. Axel showed up and managed to convince Saïx to let them both go to Beast's Castle, informing the man that he would scout out the Heartless in Agrabah for Roxas to take out at a later date. When asked if he could do it by Saïx, Axel used the exact words, "I'm a big boy," which made Vanitas laugh. Saïx relented, but informed Roxas and Xion that starting tomorrow, they were working by themselves again.

After they disappeared through a portal, Saïx informed Axel that he didn't believe Axel's "performance" at all, but Axel continued to feign ignorance as the vision ended.

"Gotta go!" Vanitas announced, quickly grabbing his gear in a nearby chair and putting it on.

"Wait, V!" Bruce called out as Vanitas pressed the buttons on his vortex manipulator.

But Vanitas hit the "teleport" button before Bruce could finish. He appeared in the secret passageway as Roxas and Xion exited the dark corridor. Roxas and Xion looked at their friend, and their eyes widened in surprise.

"What happened to your face?" they asked in unison.

Vanitas pulled out the smartphone Tony had given him and went into selfie mode on the camera to see what they were talking about. There was a purple outline around one eye, his bottom lip was a bloody mess, his nose looked broken, and there were scratches all over his cheeks and forehead.

"Oh," Vanitas assessed. "That might be what he was warning me about. I forgot to take a healing Potion after I went head first through that metal wall at 50 miles per hour. My mistake."

Vanitas took out a Potion and quickly chugged it down while Roxas turned to a distraught Xion.

"You okay?" Roxas asked while the wounds on Vanitas' face slowly healed themselves.

"I don't know what I'm going to start doing tomorrow," Xion admitted.

She looked down into her right hand, raising it up slightly to get a better look. Light flared in her hand, as if she was summoning a Keyblade, but it disappeared entirely.

"It's no use..." Xion said, shaking her head in sadness.

Roxas and Vanitas looked at her sympathetically for a second before Roxas got an idea. He summoned his Keyblade.

"What about my Keyblade?" Roxas asked. "Can you control mine?"

Xion turned towards him as he held out his Keyblade for her, nodding his head in confirmation. She took his Keyblade in her hand, and swung it readily through the air. She looked at it for a second before lowering it to the side.

"I guess... I can," Xion informed him.

"Then go ahead and use it for the day," Roxas told her.

"But Roxas-" Xion started to say.

"Maybe it'll help you remember how to summon your own," Roxas suggested.

"Bold sacrifice," Vanitas commented, nodding his head in approval. "I don't think _I_ could even do that."

"What are you gonna use?" Xion asked.

"Well..." Roxas said, looking down at the ground in thought.

Vanitas moved to grab one of his weapons to give his friend, but Roxas beat him to the punch by picking up a large stick and holding it out.

"I can improvise," Roxas announced, proudly.

"Roxas, that's a stick," Xion told him.

 _Probably not the stick she was expecting you to show her_ , Vanitas thought.

"Hey, you managed without the Keyblade," Roxas reminded Xion. "You think I'm not up for it? Just take it. It's fine."

"Okay, if you're sure," Xion said, gratefully. "Thanks, Roxas."

"You sure you're alright with that?" Vanitas asked. "'Cause I have a machete and a freakin' samurai sword. I got a lot of options for weapons."

"Keep them," Roxas assured him. "I'm sure."

"Okay..." Vanitas said, warily. He thought, _Here I was hoping you_ didn't _inherit Sora's smarts. Or lack thereof._

They made their way through the underground passageway and the West Hallway, taking out Heartless consisting of large, green dogs, large shadows, and possessed statues along the way. Roxas, predictably, couldn't do too much damage by attacking with the stick, which left most of the attacking to Xion with the Keyblade and Vanitas with his samurai sword. Luckily Roxas was able to still use magic, which caused a pretty funny, pretty unexpected visual of Blizzard flying out of the stick.

They approached the end of the hallway, but stopped when they saw a small clock with a face on it walking to the edge of the adjacent hallway.

"Those horrid creatures plaguing the castle have kept the master from seeing Belle for days..." the clock said in worry. He turned around and started hopping back down the hallway. "There has to be some way to bring the two of them together!"

He hopped out the the hallway as the trio peeked around the corner, once again surprised.

"The clock..." Xion said in thought.

"He mentioned Belle," Roxas said.

"Remember the last time we were here?" Xion asked. "The candelabra was talking about the same thing. The servants seem awfully interested in making sure Belle and their master get along."

"You think it's strange?" Roxas asked.

"It isn't, really," Vanitas informed them. "People 'ship' people with other people all the time. They just seem to be following that trend." He chuckled. "Nice to see that it happens even in other worlds."

"That's true," Xion admitted. "But what seems strange is that they seem to be in such a rush about it."

"True," Roxas and Vanitas agreed in thought in unison.

"But let's just focus on our target," Roxas pointed out.

"Right," Xion agreed, nodding her head.

"Luckily that guy left," Vanitas pointed out, gesturing to the now empty hallway.

They exited the West Hallway, taking out more green dogs along the way. They went through the Entrance Hallway, took out a Lance Soldier, and entered the ballroom. They stopped just a few feet from the entrance as Xion looked down guiltiy.

"I'm sorry, Roxas..." she told the blonde. "My taking your Keyblade must make things harder for you."

"It's fine," Roxas assured her. "No need to worry about me. As long as we got V with us, we don't have to worry too much." Vanitas nodded his head at that. "But how about you? Has using it jogged your memory at all?"

Xion shook her head.

"Nothing yet," she admitted. "Sorry."

"I know that feeling," Vanitas admitted.

"Don't be," Roxas assured her. "I'm sure it'll come back to you. Don't sweat it."

"Yeah," Xion said, looking up. "Thanks, Roxas."

Vanitas sighed out in irritation at how the two of them seemingly forgot he was there with how intently they were smiling at each other. How much longer was he gonna be playing proverbial third wheel until these two got their shit together?

He wasn't going to get an answer anytime soon, because giant, purple, Heartless dogs appeared in the center of the room.

"Look!" Xion announced. "Over there!"

"There's our Heartless!" Vanitas announced, twirling his sword, readily.

"You ready, Xion?" Roxas asked.

"Any time!" Xion informed them.

With five Bully Dogs forming an arc around them, the trio went to work. Roxas used Fire to form a circle of flame around him, attacking one while Xion used a combo attack on another one. Vanitas managed to swing his sword in a way that was both graceful, and deadly, attacking his own Bully Dog. The three managed to get the five grouped tightly together, which allowed them to go to town on the Heartless. Even with Roxas not being able to do much damage with the stick, working together, the three of them took out all five of the Heartless within seconds.

Once the Heartless were all gone, Xion and Roxas faced each other, Roxas chuckling slightly.

"Thanks, Roxas," she told him. She held out the Keyblade for him. "You can have this back."

He smiled as he took it back, then looked at her in thought.

"Do you remember anything?" Roxas asked.

"Did that have any effect?" Vanitas exemplified.

"I don't know..." Xion admitted, shaking her head and looking down. "...but let me try again."

She looked up for a second, then held her right hand out to the side with her eyes closed. Light flashed in her hand, and a Kingdom Key appeared, to their surprise and amazement. Xion lifted it up and gasped slightly in surprise. Roxas laughed and ran towards her on the opposite side.

"You did it!" He cheered, taking her hand holding the Keyblade with both of his hands.

"Roxas!" Xion exclaimed, happily, covering his right hand with her other hand. "It worked!"

"Hallelujah!" Vanitas cheered, shooting the ceiling with a handgun in celebration.

"I can't wait to tell Axel this," Roxas told her, excitedly, as they lowered their hands. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" Xion exclaimed, nodding her head in agreement.

"Fuck out!" Vanitas exclaimed as they ran out of the ballroom.

* * *

In his usual spot on the clock tower, Axel sighed out as he laid back on the floor. He had his hands on the back of his head, tired at the day's mission. He looked up at the sky, ready to relax...

"Axel," Roxas exclaimed, moving his head over his friend's.

"Whoa!" Axel cried out, quickly sitting up. Vanitas swore he had seen something similar to that before, but shook it away. "Where'd you come from?"

Roxas, Xion, and Vanitas chuckled at that.

"How was your mission?" Roxas asked.

"You know, I sure wish the Heartless would hold still once in a while," Axel complained. "I fell right on my butt chasing it around."

"I thought you said you were tough," Roxas commented.

"No," Vanitas corrected him. "His exact words were 'I'm a big boy'. Which is somehow funnier."

"Yeah, whatever, that's got nothing to do with it," Axel remarked, annoyed.He looked at them. "So, how did your caper go?"

The trio nodded their heads at each other, and Roxas and Vanitas stood to the side. Xion held out her hand, and light flared once again. Her Keyblade appeared as the light vanished.

"Ta-daaah!" Roxas announced for Xion.

Axel gasped in surprise as Xion dismissed her Keyblade.

"Roxas, Axel, V, thank you," Xion told them.

"I didn't do anything," Axel remarked, looking forwards.

"You made it possible for the three of us to go on a mission together," Xion informed him.

"If it weren't for you, Xion might never have remembered how to use the Keyblade," Roxas explained.

"So thanks, Axel," Xion informed him. "And you, V. You made it so we didn't have to fight so many Heartless by ourselves."

Both Axel and Vanitas scratched the backs of their heads at the compliments, but Axel went the greedier way.

"How 'bout a sea salt ice cream, then?" Axel asked, pointing at the sky while looking at her.

"Huh?" Xion asked, confused.

"Buy me one and we'll call it even," Axel explained.

"You got it," Xion informed him. "I'll be right back!"

Roxas chuckled as she turned and ran back towards the exit.

"Who says we're keeping score?" Vanitas asked. "We're all friends, right?"

Axel laughed at his words. Eventually Xion got back, and they all took their usual spots on the tower, munching on their own respective bars of ice cream.

"I hope we can always be just like this forever," Roxas announced.

"Me, too," Xion said.

"What's that all about?" Axel asked, looking at Roxas.

"I just..." Roxas started to explain. "...want these days to last forever. Hanging out, the ice cream, the sunsets..."

"There's a nice thought," Vanitas admitted, in thought himself.

"Well, nothing lasts forever, you know?" Axel pointed out. Roxas and Xion both looked at him. "Least of all for a bunch of Nobodies like us. But it's okay if things change and, we can't meet up here."

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

Axel had another flashback to being Lea, which Vanitas saw once again. In the flashback, Lea explained to Isa that he wanted everybody he met to remember him, because in people's memories, he could live forever, which Ventus heard.

 _You're obnoxious_ , Vanitas thought, which Axel heard.

 _That's what Isa said_ , Axel admitted.

"As long as we keep each other in our thoughts, none of us will ever have to be apart," Axel explained to Roxas and Xion. He pointed at his head. "Got it memorized?"

Roxas chuckled.

"Wow, that was so _not_ you," he announced, more happiness in his voice than Vanitas had heard before.

"Hey!" Axel exclaimed, mock offended, as he pushed Roxas in the shoulder.

"Dude, I've known you for years," Vanitas remarked. "And he's right!"

"Not you, too!" Axel exclaimed, offense still in his voice.

Roxas, Xion, and Vanitas continued to laugh at the redhead's expanse. Eventually their laughter faded, and they continued to eat their ice cream bars, staring off at the sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah. This was nice


	8. Getting by

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas and Vanitas do a mission on their own, and Vanitas observes more of the Organization's head people through visions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember, those Vanquish the Heartless threat missions always took me multiple tries the first time I ever played this game. I was always so annoyed that I didn't have the right supplies or enough Potions, or... whatever else went wrong. It's been nearly a decade since the first time I played through it, I don't exactly remember everything

The next day, Roxas had a mission by himself in Agrabah that Vanitas accompanied him on. They both appeared outside the entrance of the palace, and looked around curiously. Nearby, Aladdin and Jasmine were deep in conversation.

"Nice to see them again," Vanitas muttered as he and Roxas made sure they were hidden.

"You know them?" Roxas asked.

"Long story," Vanitas admitted.

"That guy, he's Al, right?" Roxas asked.

"Aladdin," Vanitas corrected him. "But yeah."

"What do you mean, 'it disappeared'?" Jasmine asked Aladdin.

"It's just like I said," Aladdin explained. "The sandstorm moving across the desert up and vanished. Now we can finally go outside the city again."

"Well, that's wonderful!" Jasmine exclaimed. "What a relief."

"Hold on..." Aladdin warned her. "We still need to watch out for the Heartless. They've been sighted around Agarabah even after the storm cleared up. You'll have to be careful, Jasmine. I'm gonna go make sure everything's okay."

"All right," Jasmine said. "I want you to be safe, too, Aladdin."

Once they were out of sight, Vanitas and Roxas went through the city, taking out various Heartless along the way. They exited through the front and ended up out in a larger desert area with ruins all around the place. They stood and observed the area around them, in a little bit of awe since they had never been to this area before. They were quickly shaken out of their awe when what looked like metal gears appeared over the sand. This happened one more time before the giant Heartless popped up and started rummaging through the sand.

"That would be the Heartless I'm here to dispatch," Roxas announced, his eyes wide in surprise.

"We need to go over your contract about these missions again," Vanitas remarked, pulling out his AR-15 with the triangular barrel from his first adventure with Sora.

"What's a contract?" Roxas asked, curiously.

"Never mind," Vanitas relented as Roxas summoned his Keyblade.

They ran towards the Heartless they knew was called an Antlion, which started their very long pursuit. The Heartless might have been moving at a steady pace through the sand, but its massive size meant it moved quicker than them. They managed to fight it off for a while, before the monster made Vanitas glad he pulled out a rifle. The Heartless floated up into the air and formed a mini sandstorm around itself, flinging various bits of debris towards the two. There was a large grey head around the top of the equipment, which was where Vanitas aimed.

They managed to do their own bits of damage, Roxas with his Keyblade and Vanitas with his rifle and fire, but they still got the crap beat out of them for a while. Luckily, that also worked to their advantage by allowing Roxas to use a move called a "Limit Break," which encompassed his Keyblade in blue energy and used many quick slashes on the downed head, finishing it off.

The giant Heartless rose up into the air before falling down hard on its back, causing sand to fly up and eclipse it from their views. Light then flew out of the dust in the air, followed by a crystal like heart that floated up into the air.

"That was not easy," Vanitas remarked, putting away his rifle.

"Yeah, a lot of missions are like that," Roxas admitted.

They went back into town where Roxas was supposed to RTC, but they stopped once they entered the area, seeing Aladdin and Jasmine there. The two teammates climbed up onto a tall part of a building, out of sight of the two below them.

"How did things look?" Jasmine asked Aladdin.

"Eerily quiet," Aladdin admitted. "There are definitely fewer Heartless out there than before."

"You make that sound like a bad thing!" Jasmine remarked. "Now we can finally relax a little."

"Or at least focus on getting things rebuilt," Aladdin countered.

They continued their conversation a bit more indistinctly while Roxas and Vanitas watched.

"I'd say that's another case closed!" a familiar voice exclaimed.

Roxas and Vanitas looked up and exclaimed as they saw Genie and Carpet there next to them, Genie grinning widely.

"Oh, stop," Genie complained. "I'm not that scary. Are you trying to give me a complex?"

"It's not our fault you pop out of nowhere!" Roxas exclaimed.

"This, from the guys who vanished into thin air the last time we met!" Genie remarked.

"He's got a point," Vanitas admitted.

"Well, anyway..." Genie started. "I'm glad to see Al's doing all right. Now I can enjoy the rest of my vacation free of worries!"

"You're not going to say hello?" Roxas asked.

"They're your friends, wouldn't you like to see them?" Vanitas asked.

"Nobody ever told you guys that three's a crowd?" Genie asked. "Well, it's time for the crowd to clear out!"

Genie turned away from them and flew up into the sky with carpet after him.

"What's that guy's story, anyway?" Roxas asked Vanitas. "He said he used to be a genie in a lamp..."

"You really want to know?" Genie's voice asked before Vanitas could answer.

They looked up and jumped in surprise again at the sight of Genie being in front of them again.

"It's a long story, amigo?" Genie informed him. "Long, long ago, before time was time..."

"Never mind, then," Roxas said, shaking his head.

"Maybe later," Vanitas told him.

"Aww..." Genie said, looking down in sadness.

"Okay, then," he announced, suddenly happy again. "This time, it's so long for real!"

He turned away from them and they flew up into the air with Carpet again, out of sight.

"Your friends are weird," Roxas informed Vanitas.

"I'm aware," Vanitas admitted.

They continued going to the clock tower after each of their missions to have ice cream. Two days later, Vanitas sensed that Xion had a mission with Demyx, where they took out Heartless in Agrabah. She met up with them at the clock tower as per usual afterwards.

"Keyblade still working?" Roxas asked her.

"Yeah, everything's fine now," Xion told him.

"That's good," Roxas assessed.

"We wouldn't want anything bad to happen," Vanitas commented.

"I owe it all to you guys," Xion said.

"Eat your ice cream before it melts," Axel commented, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, look at Axel!" Roxas announced happily. "He's bright red!"

"And it's not just his hair!" Vanitas announced with a laugh.

"Shut up," Axel angrily told them.

"Heh heh heh," Xion laughed.

They continued laughing and eating their ice cream while watching the sunset. Eventually, they had to leave, the three Organization members back to their castle, and Vanitas back to Avengers Tower. Vanitas entered the tower, and was immediately scorned by JARVIS.

"How many times have we gone over that teleporting inside sets off the alarms?" JARVIS asked, setting them off within a few seconds.

"Well, how else am I supposed to get in easily?" Vanitas asked the computer system.

"You could teleport outside the building and walk in through the front doors," JARVIS suggested.

"But then I have to go up twenty flights of stairs to get to my bedroom," Vanitas complained. "And I agree with Hulk, stairs _suck_!"

"V," Tony announced as he walked into the room. "There's no arguing with him."

"You argue with him all the time!" Vanitas countered. "When he's suggesting you take it easy with your suits or equipment, you're always doing the opposite!"

"Yeah, but I'm his boss," Tony informed him. "I'm allowed to do that."

"Okay, that's stupid bullshit," Vanitas remarked. "But I don't feel like arguing right now."

"Good," Tony said, gesturing to the doorway where Bruce walked in, carrying boxes of pizza. "'Cause we're doing beer, pizza, and whatever movies we can find on the TV, then some DVDs. You in?"

"Um, hell, yeah," Vanitas exclaimed, sliding his jacket with his gear off and onto a nearby armchair.

He followed them to the couch in front of the giant TV and turned it on. They ended up watching classics like Forrest Gump and the original The Blob, but branched out to stuff like House of 1,000 corpses, which made Bruce's eyes widen more than once, and House of the Dead. The last one so they could all collectively laugh at how stupid it was. They had more than enough pizza to last for a while, but spaced out the beer so they didn't get drunk until near the end of the last movie, which only made the stupidity of it even funnier.

Vanitas fell asleep with a half-eaten slice of meat lover's pizza stuck to the side of his face that night, more content than he had felt in months.

* * *

Some time later, Vanitas was sort of woken from his sleep by a vision of Axel in the Organization's castle. He was in his bedroom just sitting on his bed when Saïx walked into his room without so much as knocking.

 _What the hell, man? He could have been naked?_ Vanitas thought. He thought about things for a second. _Wait, do they ever not wear those cloaks?_

"Ever heard of knocking?" Axel asked in Vanitas' vision. "What do you want?"

"Tell me what Xion has been doing," Saïx ordered him, walking forwards a bit.

"Well, how should I know?" Axel asked, looking up at the blue haired man. "I'm not spying on her."

"The two of you look pretty close," Saïx remarked.

"So what, now I've gotta rat on my friends to you?" Axel asked. He looked away and stared at his bed. "I think you should just go."

"Today, you and Xion will be going on the same mission," Saïx informed him.

"Well, thank you, sir, for personally delivering that message to me," Axel sarcastically quipped.

"We also need you to go back to Castle Oblivion soon," Saïx added, making Axel look at him once again.

"Says Lord Xemnas?" Axel asked.

"That castle hasn't given up all its secrets," Saïx told him. "One even he doesn't know of its whereabouts."

"Even he doesn't know..." Axel said in thought. "You mean the chamber, right?"

Once again, Vanitas felt a strong sense of importance towards the word chamber for when these guys talked. Maybe it had to do with his past that he couldn't remember?

"We turned that place inside out," Axel continued. "If it's there, we're not gonna find it just by looking."

"Then let me give you another reason," Saïx told him. "Xion comes from the castle... from which Naminé can be traced."

That made both Axel, who was awake, and Vanitas, who was asleep, collectively gasp in shock and surprise.

"The place where both Naminé and Xion were born..." Saïx continued. "It's practically calling out for you."

Axel chuckled lightly.

"Whatever," he commented, before looking down then back up. "As far as the castle goes, you're the one who really wants to go there." He pointed at his former friend. "By finding the room that Xemnas is searching for... You would find out everything about Xemnas's true agenda. Am I right?"

Both men were silent for a second.

"The Chamber of Repose as well as the Chamber of Waking..." Saïx started, looking out the window to the moon of Kingdom Hearts. "Xemnas has an agenda that he hasn't told to anybody. And we are bound to find some clues in the Chamber of Waking." He crossed his arms. "And once we obtain those clues, we'll have the upper hand for our own objectives."

"I knew the time would come when Vexen and Zexion got in your way," Axel admitted. "That's why I took the initiative..." He stood up. "...and cleared the way to the top for you. I can handle all the dirty work. You go all the way to the top."

The two men paused for a second once again.

"You will be going on a solo mission to Castle Oblivion," Saïx instructed Axel. "Expect the orders soon."

He turned and started to walk out, but then stopped at the door. He turned back to look at Axel again.

"Oh, and one more thing," Saïx announced. "You wouldn't haven't happened to come across a Vanitas Jordan on one of your missions have you?"

"Never heard of him," Axel lied for his friend.

"Then you're even more dense than I thought," Saïx scorned. "He was an apprentice of Ansem the Wise back in our youths. He was the only one to not become a member of the Organization."

"Oh, yeah," Axel said in pretend realization. "Spikey black hair and the face scar. It's starting to come back to me. Why do you ask?"

"Lord Xemnas informed me long ago that he was stronger than he appeared in Hollow Bastion," Saïx told him. "He could pose a threat to our operations if kept at large."

"Good to know," Axel said. "I'll keep an eye out for him."

"He also shared a certain detail that might have been unwise," Saïx told him.

"What is it?" Axel asked, genuinely curious.

"Apparently, Vanitas had to do with forming the Chamber of Waking," Saïx said with a slight smile on his face. "Although he has amnesia, the memories of where it is should still be intact."

"You think he could lead us to the chamber," Axel assessed.

"Exactly," Saïx told him. "Which is why it is vital that you find him before he does any damage. He could be useful in our efforts."

He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Axel alone.

"Castle Oblivion..." Axel muttered in thought. "Naminé...and Xion... And how is V connected to it?"

Vanitas gripped his head in pain and cried out as another vision started, this one of his past memories, so it hurt more. He saw himself standing on the side of a wooden step with three chairs on it, Aqua standing behind the middle chair. She held a Keyblade in her hands pointed right at the chair, causing a white light to blind them. It shifted to show them standing in a circular white chamber with a chair in the center, designs of chains in the floor and wall originating from the chair. Ventus sat sleeping in said chair, only moving to breath. The vision shifted to show them walking outside the front doors of the changed castle, looking up to see that it was now Castle Oblivion.

Vanitas gasped awake and sat up in his bed. He breathed in and out as he thought over what he had seen in his vision. That room that he and Aqua had been in... There was no doubt in his mind that that was the Chamber of Waking. Ventus was sleeping in the Chamber of Waking, and Xemnas was looking for it. Xemnas, Xehanort's Nobody, was looking for his old best friend. Once again, Vanitas found himself asking a pertinent six word question he had been asking for years.

"What the fuck is going on?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can't tell, I'm also really excited to start giving back Vanitas his life force, powers, memories, and Keyblade. And yes, it's in that order. But I'm still not saying when each happens.


	9. Lazy days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas goes through a day of thinking things over with his friends and a planned attempt, then a day of relaxation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I mentioned before, Vanitas is paired up with Roxas on missions where he's either alone, or paired up with Axel or Xion. And since he has a history with some of the members of the Organization, he has to stay hidden.

When Vanitas got ready for the day, he sensed that this was a mission he couldn't assist Roxas on. Today, Roxas was paired up with Xigbar, and he was a member of the Organization he especially wanted to avoid. Xion and Axel had their own mission paired together, to Roxas' dismay.

"Why can't these idiots realize how much they like each other?" Vanitas muttered, annoyed.

The vision further extended to show that Roxas and Xigbar were investigating a new world, Olympus Coliseum. Xigbar explained that they were looking for new recruits, and mentioned that Roxas and Xion were special Nobodies before Heartless appeared. They took the monsters out, but then Phil appeared, thinking Roxas was a new trainee to be a hero sent by Hercules. Roxas tried to get Xigbar to help explain, but the old pirate had disappeared. Phil told Roxas to wait while he got more equipment ready, and went back into the coliseum.

Xigbar then reappeared, and for once said something that made Vanitas laugh a bit, "Wow, Roxas. Moonlighting as a wannabe hero now?"

The old man insisted that this was a good thing, because it meant Roxas could freely go around without anyone saying something. He then left, saying, "I don't wanna get in the way of your valuable training. I care about your future, Roxas." Vanitas had to admit: the old man might be an asshole, but he did have his funny moments.

Roxas begrudgingly agreed to go along with the training after doing some recon. The vision shifted a bit to show Axel and Xion taking out Heartless in Twilight Town. The fact that Roxas and Xion's fighting styles were so eerily similar still made Vanitas curious, but the vision ended quickly this time.

Today, since he wasn't going on a mission with Roxas, Vanitas explained his visions to Tony and Bruce over brunch. They all kind of had late starts and couldn't get breakfast earlier.

"... but whatever Saïx has planned for Ven obviously can't be good," Vanitas continued. "Some members of the Organization might be cool, but that guy doesn't seem like a pleasant man."

"From the sounds of him, he might be as bad as Loki was before he went straight," Bruce commented.

"We'll have to keep an eye out in case he comes around," Tony said. "But we're gonna need an image of him." He held up his smartphone. "Do you think you could project an image from your vision onto this?"

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted. "But I can try."

Vanitas closed his eyes and placed his hand over the screen on the phone. He concentrated hard to get an image from his vision in his mind, and it hurt. A lot. He exclaimed in pain as an image of the man came into his mind while his nose bled. Further extending his powers caused more pain, and a bit of blood to come out of one of his ears, but eventually an image of the blue haired, scarred faced man in the black cloak appeared on the screen. Vanitas sighed out as he released what little of a hold he had on his powers and sat back in the chair.

Tony took a screenshot of Saïx on his phone, then looked up.

"JARVIS," Tony announced. "Put this image in your database. Study the face, and keep a lookout in case he ever shows up on this world with the satellite. If he ever shows his face, then danger will be close behind."

"Yes, sir," JARVIS remarked. "He is under the files 'Organization XIII,' with the subheading 'Saïx.' If he appears, I will alert you immediately."

"Thanks, JARVIS," Tony said.

"Yeah, thanks," Vanitas said, wiping the blood from his head. "I guess we'll have to be ready in case he shows up."

"Now we can focus on something else," Bruce said. "Trying to figure out the mystery of the rest of this Organization."

"Elaborate, please," Vanitas said. "There's a couple of mysteries surrounding them."

"This one, I think we should think about where they all come from," Bruce explained. "You said it yourself: a Nobody is formed when a person loses their heart and turns into a Heartless. Their body becomes a Nobody. But someone with a strong enough heart looks exactly like they did when they were human, and becomes a member of the Organization."

"Correct," Vanitas agreed, nodding his head.

"And there were fourteen of them total," Bruce continued. "Xemnas..."

"Mansex," Vanitas and Tony simultaneously corrected with a laugh.

"Right," Bruce continued with a slight laugh. "But there's also Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saïx, Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene, Roxas and Xion. You said it yourself, Xemnas used to be Xehanort, Xigbar used to be Braig, Xaldin used to be Dilan, Vexen used to be Even, Lexaeus used to be Aeleus, Zexion used to be Ienzo, Saïx used to be Isa, Axel used to be Lea, and Roxas used to be Sora. But what about the others? Where did Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene, and Xion come from?"

Tony and Vanitas looked at each other in thought, before looking back at Bruce.

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted. He shook his head with a slight chuckle. "Five members of the Organization I don't recognize from before that could come from anywhere. Interesting..."

"There's also your other suspicions," Tony pointed out. "How can Xion and Roxas have such similar fighting styles? Maybe figuring out which Somebody Xion was before could help figure that out."

"Maybe," Vanitas agreed, pointing at Tony. "But then, there's also the fact that she and Naminé were both born at Castle Oblivion."

"You said it yourself," Bruce remarked. "Naminé is Kairi's Nodoby, but since her heart was resting inside Sora's during your first journey, she wasn't born until Sora lost his heart, releasing Kairi's. If Xion comes from the same place as Naminé, then maybe that means something."

"Yeah," Tony said, getting what Bruce was implying. "If they were born in the same place, then maybe they come from the same person."

"Sora and Kairi?" Vanitas assessed. He thought about it for a second, before nodding his head. "It makes sense. She looks a lot like Kairi, but she has a Keyblade that's just like Sora's."

"So Sora has two Nobodies," Bruce said. He chuckled slightly and shook his head. "He's so complex, I'm not even surprised."

"Wait," Tony said in thought. "If Xion and Naminé come from the two of them, does that mean they're Sora and Kairi's..."

"Don't," Vanitas announced as Tony trailed off. "Trust me, it's too weird to think about."

"Very," Tony agreed, nodding his head.

"Yeah," Bruce agreed, also nodding his head.

"But that proses new questions," Vanitas admitted. "How does Sora have two Nobodies? What does the Organization want with her? And why the fuck won't she and Roxas realize how they feel about each other?"

Tony and Bruce both chuckled a bit at the last question, due to how irritated Vanitas was asking it.

"We'll talk some more about it later," Tony informed him. "Right now, we gotta get to that test."

Vanitas nodded his head and took one last bite of waffle. He followed them to the lab and looked over the computer they had kept all the information on. In the center was an X-ray of Vanitas' body, showing the lack of pulse, vitals, and heartbeat.

"So what do you plan on doing?" Vanitas asked.

"Well, we figured people can be brought back with enough volts of electricity all the time in hospitals," Tony explained. "So we have some pads that can surge enough electricity to bring back ten people. Then we went through that spell book of yours to add the power of light into the pads."

"If we're lucky," Bruce continued. "Then it'll 'attack' you with just enough power that could match what happened to you. Sure, a Keyblade exploding is a lot of power, but that's why we're using the combined power of ten at once."

"If we're lucky," Tony announced again for their sake. "If we're not, then this could only send out enough electricity that could power a car into your body. And if you were already alive, then this would probably leave you a mangled, smoking corpse."

"Well, I'm technically not alive anymore, so what harm could it do?" Vanitas asked.

He went into a room and changed into the outfit of a test subject, teal shirt with equally teal pants and white socks on slipped on shoes. Tony directed him into the testing area, where the equipment was waiting for him on the table. He then rejoined Bruce outside, looking into the room through a re-enforced window.

"Since this is a lot of electricity, you're going to have to use the pads on yourself," Tony explained through a loudspeaker. "Remember, let them charge up a bit before you use them, otherwise you won't get enough energy. And the spots you want to place them on are your chest and stomach."

"Got it," Vanitas said, giving them a thumbs-up. He sat in a chair and grabbed the pads, holding them up for the two scientists to see. "I'm ready when you are!"

"Administering electricity into the device," Bruce announced, pressing some buttons on the console.

The machine the pads were connected to turned on, and started charging itself up.

"Adding the power of light," Tony announced before muttering the right spell in latin to the machine.

"How exactly does this work, again?" Bruce asked him.

"Apparently with this book, you can add the power of light to a specific weapon to make it affect beings that can only be harmed with light," Tony explained once he was done. "We add it to the pads, and he can use those as a 'weapon' on himself. And if it works, it should help him."

"Here's hoping!" Vanitas yelled into the room.

He turned the pads on and let them charge up. After a few seconds, he rubbed the pads against each other to start them, and get them ready. Vanitas looked up through the window and nodded his heads at them in affirmation. They nodded their heads back, and Vanitas mentally prepared himself.

"Clear!" he announced before pressing the pads in the right spots.

Electricity coursed through Vanitas' body, causing him to shake in his chair as he held the pads in place. He would have let go a little while ago if he could actually move his limbs at this point. Vanitas did the stereotypical stuttering while being electrocuted as the equipment continued to send the gigantic number of volts into him. After a few seconds, the equipment started to smoke. That escalated further after about a minute or two. The machine exploded, then the pads exploded, knocking back Vanitas in his chair onto the floor, unconscious.

* * *

The visions continued as Vanitas was unconscious. Roxas did some training with urns at the Coliseum while Xion and Axel took out their Heartless. Once Roxas was finished, Phil explained what the situation with the "Games" was, and how Hercules was their bona fide hero. Roxas tiredly left the coliseum, passing Hercules along the way. He didn't show up at the clock tower, so Xion and Axel were on their own.

The two of them sat at the clock tower, discussing the properties of memories a bit. Xion elaborated that Roxas didn't remember much about his past, just like her, then wondered aloud if they had that much in common before they were Nobodies. This only added to Vanitas' irritation towards the two.

The vision shifted to show Roxas writing in his Diary that he had flashes of his own of a "guy in red" while in Olympus Coliseum. He was having visions of his past.

The visions kept up to show the next day, where Roxas was surprised to learn that operations were closed for the day for vacation. Naturally, Roxas didn't know what that was, so he asked his friends. Axel explained that it was a day off to do whatever they wanted. Axel said that he'd be spending his vacation sleeping- _Why am I not surprised?_ Vanitas thought -and Xion would be spending her day training with the Keyblade. Roxas didn't know what he wanted to do, so he just went to Twilight Town, where he ran into that guy, Pence, and his friends Hayner and Olette.

It was then that Vanitas finally gasped awake, then immediately clutched his head in pain.

"Easy," a female voice announced.

Vanitas saw through slight spots in his eyes to see a Chinese woman in a white lab coat sitting over him, adjusting a cool cloth on his forehead. Looking over her shoulder, Vanitas saw Tony and Bruce at the foot of his bed.

"V, this is Doctor Helen Cho," Tony explained. "We contacted her so she could help."

"Even though they should have already known I'm not that kind of doctor," Helen said with a slight smile directed at the two. "I could not pass up the opportunity to study someone so... extravagant!"

"Well... thanks," Vanitas said with a slight bit of unease.

"Are we lucky we had those healing Potions you always carry around on your missions," Helen announced, gesturing to the slowly emptying bag of Potions they had produced from his sling. "There didn't seem to be any other way to help you."

"Does that mean..." Vanitas started, looking at his friends.

Tony and Bruce just looked at him sadly.

"Sorry, V," Bruce said. "It didn't work."

"I guess combining technology with magic isn't always a good idea," Tony admitted.

"It's all right," Vanitas told them as his vision came back into full focus. He took the cool cloth off of his head and set it on his desktop. "It won't be the only opportunity I'll get to get it back."

"Right," Tony agreed as he and Bruce nodded their heads with slight smiles.

Vanitas sat up in his bed and nodded at his friends and the doctor before gripping his head from another vision. Roxas had done this thing called "Struggle" with the kids in Twilight Town, and was moving on to the clock tower for ice cream.

"Sorry, but I gotta get going," Vanitas told his friends as he grabbed his Vortex Manipulator and slipped it on. "Gotta go see my friends for at least the ice cream."

"Sure it's okay to use your Manipulator while you're healing?" Tony asked.

"Probably not," Vanitas admitted. "But when has that ever stopped me?"

He pressed the buttons on the device and disappeared in a flash of light. Helen Cho looked over at Bruce and Tony.

"Is he always this magnificent?" she asked in awe.

"He's fifteen," Tony reminded her as they exited a room with a joint chuckle.

* * *

Roxas was sitting in his spot on the tower, chewing on his own ice cream bar as a flash of light appeared next to him. Already knowing what it meant, he looked up and smiled at Vanitas before furrowing his eyebrows.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Roxas asked.

Vanitas looked down to see he was still in the teal clothes he wore during the test, which were now slightly burnt from the explosion.

"Some friends tried to see if there was a way to give me back my life force," Vanitas explained, sitting in his usual spot. "It didn't go so well."

"I'll say," Roxas remarked. "You smell like you were on fire. And a bit like metal."

"Yeah, I got shocked," Vanitas admitted. "A _lot._ "

"I knew you guys'd be here," Axel remarked, announcing his arrival.

"Axel," Roxas greeted as he walked past the two, carrying his own ice cream bar.

"Hey, man," Vanitas greeted as the taller man stretched out his arms slightly.

"Slept like a log," Axel admitted before sitting down in his usual spot.

Roxas and Vanitas chuckled slightly while Axel looked down at the courtyard in front of the tower to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette running around.

"Are the kids here on summer vacation already?" Axel asked. "...Nah, can't be. It's much too early."

"Summer vacation?" Roxas asked. "What's that?"

"A gods-send," Vanitas answered.

"A dream come true," Axel agreed. "Where they get a whole month off."

"A month off!?" Roxas asked in shock.

"Sometimes two or three," Vanitas remarked.

"I wouldn't know what to do with that much time," Roxas admitted. "I can't even figure out how to fill a day."

"You'd be surprised," Axel informed him. "They give you plenty of homework, and of course, you have to play with your friends everyday. Trust me, it's over before you can even blink."

"Hmm..." Roxas said in thought. "I could deal with seven days, maybe."

"Most kids spend the time just goofing off with their friends," Axel informed him. "They save the homework till the end and then they help each other finish it."

"That sounds fun, I guess," Roxas commented.

"Others get stoned or drunk," Vanitas informed him. "At least, where I grew up."

"Luckily we're not where you grew up," Axel commented. "Besides, hanging around with friends is fun. I'd forgotten about all that since becoming a Nobody, I guess." He looked over at Roxas and smiled. "So, how did you spend your day?"

They were interrupted from answering when Xion walked into place, carrying an ice cream bar.

"Hey, guys," she announced as she went into her spot. "How did I know you'd be here?"

"Where did you go, Xion?" Roxas asked as she stepped onto the ledge and started to sit down.

"I didn't go anywhere," Xion reminded him. "What about you guys? Did you... What smells like burning toast?"

"That'd be me," Vanitas admitted, holding up a hand. "Long story."

"To answer your question," Roxas said. He looked towards Axel with a smile on his face. "Axel says he was asleep all day."

"What?" Xion asked. "What's that about? You wasted a day off?"

"Unlike you three lazybones, I work hard, so I'm tired, okay?" Axel asked.

"Unlike me, Roxas, and V, maybe you're just out of shape!" Xion countered.

"Start lifting some weights, old man," Vanitas joked, causing the four of them to all start laughing.

After a little while, they had eaten their ice cream and were just staring out at the sunset.

"Tomorrow, it's back to work," Axel assessed.

"Yeah..." Roxas agreed.

"Hope we get another vacation soon," Xion commented.

"Me, too," Vanitas said. He patted Axel on the shoulder. "I wanna take you guys to Asgard and see if we can get this guy shit faced drunk."

"Oh, yeah," Axel said in realization. "I might not see you guys again for a while."

"Huh?" Roxas asked as Axel stood up.

"They're sending me out on recon for a few days," Axel explained, stretching slightly.

Vanitas remembered the vision he had the previous day, and how Saïx was sending him to Castle Oblivion, so he saw through Axel's lie.

"Where?" Roxas asked.

"Can't tell," Axel told them, raising a finger up to his mouth to emphasize he was keeping quiet.

"What's up with that?" Roxas asked.

"You've never done _that_ before," Vanitas commented.

"It's a secret mission," Axel told them.

"But I thought we were friends," Xion said.

"Hey, I'm not about to tell you ALL my dark secrets," Axel said, crouching down so they could see him better. He pointed at his forehead. "Got it memorized?"

"That's a good point," Vanitas admitted.

"Dark secrets?" Roxas asked Xion as Axel laughed while sitting back down.

"I'm kidding," Axel admitted. "I just gotta keep my mouth shut about it, or else Saïx will get on my case. You know how he can get."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed as he and Xion nodded their heads.

"Totally," Vanitas agreed.

"Try not to bungle everything while I'm gone, huh?" Axel asked them.

"Now, why would we do that?" Xion asked.

"Well, considering your track record, I just can't count on you guys," Axel remarked.

"Hey!" Xion exclaimed.

"Dick!" Vanitas remarked with a laugh.

Axel started laughing himself.

"We can handle things just fine!" Xion informed him.

"That's right, just you watch!" Roxas announced, defiantly.

They continued laughing until they had to leave. Once he was back on Earth 616, Vanitas had another vision of Axel. He was in the Organization castle's entrance hall, walking towards a doorway when a voice stopped him.

"What took you so long?" Saïx asked.

Axel turned to see his former friend walking up to stop in front of him.

"It's my vacation," the redhead informed the blunette. "I can take all the time I want. Since when do I have to check in with you?"

"You're letting yourself get too attached to them," Saïx remarked, walking to stand next to Axel.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," Axel commented.

"And what of Vanitas Jordan?" Saïx asked. "Do you know of his whereabouts?"

"Not a clue," Axel informed him. "Whatever it is you want him for, I can't help you."

Saïx looked at him for a second.

"You know, you've changed," Saïx commented, turning and starting to walk away.

Axel just took in his words before walking away.

Vanitas' vision ended and he breathed in and out. Underneath everything that was going on, Vanitas couldn't help but wonder, _What does that guy want with me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how much electricity is used for a lot of stuff, so I used guestimations for the electric pads portion. Oh, and of course Tony and Bruce had more involvement than just being Vanitas' planning buddies. But unfortunately, the plan doesn't work. Like I said, there's a specific moment in the series that can give Vanitas back his life force, and unfortunately, we're not there yet.


	10. Work to Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas and Vanitas go back to work together. Well, on most days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while. Updating on here started to feel like a chore, and I wanted to branch out more in what I was doing during this quarantine. I plan to make up a bit with chapters, especially since I've finished all of the immediate schoolwork I was assigned for this week

Vanitas wanted to help Roxas during the mission he had the next day, but he had to sit it out due to Roxas being teamed up with Xaldin. Keeping track through visions, Vanitas saw that they went to Beast's Castle, where they tried to figure out the mystery of Beast. They discovered another servant, this time a living clock, Belle, and the rose that Beast was very passionate about. For reasons that made Vanitas suspicious, Xaldin was _very_ interested in Beast and the rose.

When their mission ended, Roxas went to the clock tower to find Xion already there, but Vanitas decided to stay home for that, too. As much as he wanted to meddle, the only way the two of them were gonna figure out their true feelings for each other was on their own, after all. That didn't mean he wasn't going to meddle, of course, but still.

They continued to do missions together while Vanitas continued to evade and figure out the mystery of the Organization. After one of his missions with Roxas, he went back to Castle Oblivion to look around a bit. Like when he arrived with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, Vanitas was really apprehensive about being back at the castle. Only now he kind of knew why.

Since the rooms didn't have the impression from the cards, like when he left, Vanitas navigated the bare floors quickly, reaching the top floor that the Organization had set up shop in. Finding nothing, he searched around until he finally, literally bumped into Axel on his way back down to search. The two both gasped in surprise at the sight of each other.

"V?" Axel asked in confusion. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Vanitas confirmed.

"Uh, why?" Axel asked, still a little confused.

"You're looking for the Chamber of Waking," Vanitas assessed. "But you can't find it."

"Yeah," Axel admitted. "It's a real bitch to look for."

"But you don't know what's inside," Vanitas assessed once again.

"No, I don't," Axel admitted.

"I do," Vanitas informed him, making his eyes widen a bit. "It came to me in... a very painful vision. I don't remember all of it, but... somehow my friend and I converted a destroyed castle into this place. We stored our friend in a chair in the Chamber of Waking. No one can find it because it's his resting place, until he's ready."

"What friend?" Axel asked.

"You know him," Vanitas informed him.

Axel took in his words for a second before his eyes widened in realization.

"Ven?" Axel asked, at which Vanitas nodded in confirmation. "Ven is in the Chamber of Waking?"

"Yep," Vanitas assured, nodding his head.

"But then that begs the question..." Axel started, coming to the same conclusion as Vanitas.

"What the hell does Xemnas want with Ventus?" Vanitas voiced the question.

"Whatever the hell he wants," Axel announced. "I am not staying in this castle any longer than I need to. Wherever the Chamber is, I don't plan on revealing it and giving him a friend I made."

"Good man," Vanitas said, patting Axel on the upper part of his arm.

"So what do we do now?" Axel asked.

"You're gonna have to lay low," Vanitas informed his redheaded friend. "If you're not staying here, then you're gonna have to hide from the Organization. Make them think you've spent a whole lot of time searching this place to no avail. Really, just go take an extended vacation or something."

"I do like the sound of that," Axel admitted. "But I am gonna have to come back a few times in case they send Dusks as scouts."

"Okay, what the hell is a Dusk?" Vanitas asked.

Axel closed his eyes, giving Vanitas a clear indication he was thinking about it. Vanitas got the picture and closed his eyes, trying to take control of his powers to look into Axel's head. This, as usual, caused a lot of pain and a nosebleed, but Vanitas was able to make out the image of a standard Nobody with weird flaps for arms and legs, and what looked like a zipper for a mouth. Vanitas gasped as he took his mind out of Axel's, and both of them opened their eyes immediately.

"That's a Dusk?" Vanitas asked, breathing in and out.

"Yeah, it's a standard form of Nobody," Axel informed him. "Not all of them wind up as pretty as me."

"That's a shame," Vanitas commented.

"No kidding," Axel agreed. "But they serve as scouts among the various worlds, so we know where to go. If you see them, (huff), make sure they don't see you."

"They don't have eyes," Vanitas commented. "How do they... Eh, never mind. I get it, make sure those fugly things don't see me while I'm on a world. And if they do, then make sure they don't survive the trip back."

"Sounds about right," Axel assessed while Vanitas pressed some buttons on his Vortex Manipulator. "Well, see ya. Good luck!"

"Likewise," Vanitas commented as he pressed the buttons.

And with a flash of light, Vanitas was back in his bedroom in time to down his sleeping potion and collapse right on his bed, still wearing his gear and everything.

* * *

The next day, Roxas had a pretty standard mission to collect hearts at the Coliseum, which Vanitas was able to assist on. Roxas used a Dark Corridor to appear there while Vanitas used his Vortex Manipulator.

"Hmm, I'm not on recon today, so I should probably steer clear of the Coliseum," Roxas said in thought. "All I have to do is defeat some Heartless and then I can head home."

"What, you don't like Phil's training?" Vanitas asked, jokingly.

"I'm not a fan of it," Roxas admitted with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I don't blame you," Vanitas admitted, before he realized something. "Wait, you're not surprised that I know Phil?"

"At this point," Roxas said. "I'm willing to accept that you know at least one to five people on every world we visit."

"That... is probably accurate," Vanitas commented.

They quickly ended up having to do their mission when Heartless appeared in front of them in the courtyard. Three large, red, living horns, and three tiny cannons. The two of them managed to take out all six of the enemies pretty quickly, Roxas with more wicked looking combos, and Vanitas with his machete and a revolver. Once they were done, their doors to the vestibule were on their rights as they put away their weapons.

"Roxas!" Phil's voice announced from the doors. "You have got good timing, kid! And you brought Vanitas with you! Even better!"

They turned towards the doors and saw Phil running up to them. He stopped in front of them and breathed in and out a bit before looking up at the two.

"We got a Heartless situation in the Coliseum!" Phil announced.

"What!?" Roxas exclaimed.

"You heard me," Phil remarked. "And Herc's nowhere to be found! I know this is no job for a rookie and a junior hero, but I ain't got much of a choice!"

After a second, the satyr continued, "This is the real do, so stay sharp."

"We will," Roxas assured him. "Let's go, V."

Vanitas nodded his head and they started running towards the doors.

"Hey, hold on," Phil announced, stopping them in their tracks. "Let me give ya two words of advice."

They turned and looked at the goat as he turned and looked at them.

"Don't," Phil informed them. "Get. Careless!"

"Um, right," Roxas agreed, nodding his head.

"He can't count," Vanitas informed his friend as they ran into the vestibule.

"I figured," Roxas commented. "Hey, what did he mean by 'junior hero'?"

"Uh, that's a long story," Vanitas uttered, annoyed at Phil's earlier words.

The Heartless inside ended up looking like a bigger, armored Large Body. They immediately had to dodge as the monster charged at them, but then it teleported so that it was charging at them from the front. Vanitas lifted his modified MP5 rifle in both hands and aimed it right at the Heartless' head as Roxas dodged the charge with his Keyblade. Vanitas fired at the head, causing a bit of damage before the Heartless teleported a few feet away before charging at the two again. Roxas used Magnera magic to cause a big magnet in the air, which picked up the Heartless as it teleported again.

Roxas jumped up into the air towards the Magnet magic and used an aerial combo on the Heartless' head, doing a bit of damage, but it teleported back onto the ground before he could use the finisher. Luckily, Roxas attempted the finisher again, and was able to hit it this time. Roxas' attack knocked the monster onto its behind, which made it the perfect target for Vanitas with his rifle. The rifle was small enough for him to use with one hand, no problem, so he threw balls of fire with the other.

With Vanitas' aiming, he made sure not to hit Roxas, who had used Magnera to pick up the Heartless again, and use another aerial combo. The Heartless teleported around them multiple times, making them a bit dizzy, but they managed to keep up the attack. Vanitas shared a slight vision with Roxas about when Sora, himself, Donald, and Goofy were fighting Soldiers while in the games, but it ended quickly, thankfully.

The two of them still got knocked around by the Heartless' charge attacks, but they still managed to keep up their own in retaliation. Vanitas reloaded his rifle and emptied half of it into the Heartless' head once again before Roxas used another wicked combo. When Roxas landed on the ground, he did a trifecta of Magnera, Thundera, and Cura, to both attack the Heartless and heal himself.

Vanitas then lunged up onto the Heartless in the air and pointed his rifle right at its head. He emptied the rest of the rifle into the head then just manually hit it in the head repeatedly with the end of the rifle to try to inflict damage. When the Heartless landed on the ground again, it knocked Vanitas off again, and Roxas went to town on its head. He used a very long, wicked combo on the head, until eventually, the Heartless was destroyed.

Both the teammates breathed in and out, tired, as Vanitas picked himself up and got on his feet.

"Those things are never pleasant," Vanitas commented.

"No, they are not," Roxas agreed.

Roxas pulled out a Mega-Potion and threw it up into the air, healing both of them. This healed them, but Vanitas still had to pop one of the bones in his arm manually. They re-entered the lobby with Phil staring expectantly at the doorway.

"Nice going," Phil congratulated them. "You looked pretty good out there!"

"Um, thanks..." Roxas said, nodding a head.

"It's what we excel at," Vanitas joked.

"Now that you're warmed up, how about startin' on today's training?" Phil asked.

"What?" Roxas asked in surprise.

"You're serious about gettin' into the big leagues, right?" Phil asked him. "Well, there are two things every hero hopeful has to remember. Train. Every. Day!"

"But I'm telling you, I'm not-" Roxas started to say.

"No 'buts,' kid!" Phil exclaimed. "Now get training! Let's go."

"Uh..." Roxas said in thought. "Sorry, but I really have to go." He looked at Vanitas hopefully. "Right, V?"

"Oh, no, we've got enough time," Vanitas announced with a knowing smile. "After all, if you don't get the training, how will you end up a hero like Hercules?"

"There you go!" Phil excitedly exclaimed. "Listen to the Junior Hero. You need as much training as you can get. So, let's get going!"

Phil turned and walked through the door to the arena, and Roxas looked at Vanitas with an accusatory expression.

"I hate you," the blonde told the ravenette.

"No, you don't," Vanitas smirked a knowing smile as Roxas reluctantly followed Phil.

Vanitas watched as Phil put Roxas through the same same training treatment with barrels that he had put Sora through not too long ago. But at least there was the addition of him taking out many soldiers by knocking barrels into them this time. Once it was all done, Roxas stood in front of Phil and Vanitas with his hands on his knees, panting for breath.

"All right," Phil announced. "That's enough for today." Then he corrected himself, "Actually, it's more than enough. Between givin' that Heartless pest a pounding and all the training you put in... Ya know, you could really..."

Roxas stood up straighter and Vanitas raised an eyebrow at the satyr.

"Uh-huh?" Roxas asked. "Could really what?"

"Could really use more practice," Phil exclaimed. "Trust me. You're gonna need it."

"Right..." Roxas said, before he looked at Vanitas. "V?"

"Nah, I promised my friend I'd get pizza for dinner," Vanitas told him. "I gotta get going pretty quickly. You go on ahead."

Roxas nodded his head and walked towards the exit doors.

"Where'd you find that kid?" Phil asked Vanitas.

"Eh, it's a long story," Vanitas remarked. "He does have a lot in common with Sora."

"Yeah, I noticed," Phil commented. "His weapon is very similar to the kid's. So when are you gonna bring the other Junior Heroes around?"

"That'll be a while," Vanitas admitted, pressing buttons on his wrist strap. "It's another long story."

He pressed the right button and disappeared in a flash of light before Phil could ask any more questions.

"I will never understand that kid..." Phil muttered as Hercules walked into the vestibule.

* * *

Some days later, Vanitas was able to assist Roxas on a mission to another world that he had been to with Sora and co., Halloweentown. They appeared in their respective ways, and looked around at their surroundings.

"This is a creepy looking place," Roxas commented.

"I do not remember this place last time," Vanitas commented as he looked around the graveyard they were in.

"We just gotta take out some Heartless," Roxas informed his ally. "Although, how I tell the difference between Heartless and this town's inhabitants, I will have no idea."

"I've been here," Vanitas informed him. "I'll show you the difference."

Roxas nodded his head, and the two of them walked into the town square, which was once again different than the last time Vanitas had been there. Seeing his reflection in the guillotine blade, Vanitas' eyes widened.

"Hey, I'm not a Tri-zombie this time!" Vanitas exclaimed. "How come..." Then he realized it. "Oh, Donald's magic isn't here to change me."

"What are you talking about?" Roxas asked.

"Long story," Vanitas informed him.

They reached the bottom of stairs that led to Dr. Finklestein's lab, and that was when Heartless appeared. Facing three Neoshadows, Roxas summoned his Keyblade and Vanitas took out his sledgehammer. They attacked with their respective weapons, getting a bit of assistance from the well head in the center of the square shooting balls of green energy, and a black gate opening and closing quickly in an attack. After taking out one of the Neoshadows, a Ghost carrying a candle appeared, which Vanitas immediately smacked in the face with his large hammer.

Once they took out the other Neoshadows, another Ghost and a Commander appeared, which they fought off with the wicked combos from Roxas and Vanitas using his fire encased sledgehammer. The second wave taken out quickly, three more Commanders appeared, which they went to work on. This time, they got a little bit of help from the guillotine blade falling on one of the large monsters.

They took out the Commanders quickly, but they were replaced by large Shadows and Wight Knights. Luckily for Vanitas, the Knights were suddenly a lot easier to destroy with his fire encased weapon. He put it up to them technically being mummies, covered in toilet paper, after all. They took out the monsters pretty quickly, using their various spells and swings from their weapons, until all the Heartless were gone.

"Let's go," Roxas announced, breathing in and out. "This place gives me the creeps."

"I gotta show you more horror movies," Vanitas commented.

They made their way back to the dark corridor to say goodbye, but were stopped when they heard a voice familiar to Vanitas behind them.

"Trick or treat!" the voice called out.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"What?" Vanitas asked as they turned around.

An explosion went off in front of them, causing the two of them to exclaim, "Waugh!" in surprise and slight pain. When their visions came back, Vanitas widened his eyes at the sight of Lock, Shock, and Barrel standing there.

"Of course, it's _you_ little shits!" Vanitas exclaimed.

"Ah ha ha ha!" Lock laugh-mocked. "We got you!"

They turned and ran away, and Vanitas pulled a Tec-9 out and shot after them, only hitting the ground. Once they were out of sight, he relented and put the gun away again.

"You know those kids?" Roxas asked, still a little shaken up from the explosion.

"Unfortunately," Vanitas admitted. "I kicked their asses once with some friends. Huh. I don't think they recognized me without all the horrifying gore on my face."

"Okay, you are telling me that story," Roxas announced, turning towards the dark corridor.

"One day," Vanitas promised as he teleported away with his Vortex Manipulator.

Once he was back in Avenger's Tower on Earth 616, Vanitas gripped his head in pain as a vision started. DiZ and Naminé were in the pod room, staring up at the pod that Sora was sleeping in. They turned at the sight of another person entering the room. This third person was tall, wearing a black Organization XIII cloak, with spikey silver hair, and a blindfold covering his eyes. The vision ended before Vanitas could get a clear view of Riku's face.

He gasped slightly as he took in the vision.

"Man, Riku had one hell of a growth spurt," Vanitas commented. "But... what's he gonna do now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and know that unlike Vanitas having powers in Birth by Sleep, I actually plan on doing something more with Saïx searching for our favorite vengeful pyrotechnic. I've learned a bit more about writing since then. Not a lot, but some. Also, for those asking for when the specific moment I was talking about for Vanitas is... know that it's in the game that comes after this one


	11. Conflicting Views

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas meets up with other allies, and Riku proceeds to fuck things up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I didn't know how else to put it in the summary. That is essentially what he did at this part, though

Not missing a beat, Vanitas put the co-ordinates for Twilight Town back into his Vortex Manipulator and hit the transport button. He appeared in the white pod room right behind Riku. Naminé was a little surprised, since she wasn't used to the teleporter, but DiZ barely even emoted to his arrival.

"Ah, Vanitas," the man greeted. "I trust the teleportation device is working properly?"

"Yeah," Vanitas confirmed, looking past Riku to the man in red. "Besides a very bright flash that blinds me a bit, it works very well."

DiZ nodded, and then Riku turned to face Vanitas. Vanitas was admittedly surprised since the boy who was around his height just some months prior was now much taller than him. The blindfold covering his eyes, and the very long silver hair covering his face made it very hard to make out his features, but Vanitas could still see that he looked a great deal older than before, even if a few months had only passed. Only the bottom third of his face, including his mouth and chin, were visible to the public.

"V," Riku blandly greeted with a slight nod of the head. "Good to see you."

"Likewise," Vanitas greeted in the same bland tone before he furrowed his eyebrows. "Man, puberty hit you like a punch to the face, dude."

Next to DiZ, Naminé tried and failed to stifle her laughter, and Riku looked down with a slight smile. Looking over at Naminé, Vanitas could see that she had also changed a bit. She was taller, so that the dress that went past her knees was a bit shorter. Then Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows again. Was that dress the only thing she ever wore? He shook his head at the thought.

What also made him curious was that Naminé also looked at Riku and held back a blush for a second.

 _That'll never happen,_ Vanitas thought. The he furrowed his eyebrows again. _Or, maybe it will_ _. I mean, I expected Clara and the 11th Doc to get together, and I was wrong about that. Ugh, those stupid fucking writers... Wait, what's happening?_

"What's happening is we are here to discuss your progress," DiZ announced, making Vanitas jump in surprise. The man in red was looking at Vanitas in a reprimanding manner, so he avoided making eye contact with him. "Riku, you have been looking to uncover more about the Organization?"

"Yes," Riku confirmed, turning to look at DiZ. "We know there are nine members now since the battle at Castle Oblivion. They have two Keyblade Wielders to collect hearts to build up their own Kingdom Hearts."

"But they're still sending drones to Castle Oblivion," Vanitas added. "I have it in with a member named Axel, they sent him there to try to find this place called the Chamber of Waking."

"I remember," Naminé announced. "They constantly had Axel looking for that chamber, when he wasn't playing both sides."

"Yeah, I convinced him to gaslight them," Vanitas informed the group. "He's given up searching, and is gonna just dick around for long enough for them to think he actually searched but still couldn't find something. He seems to be open to helping me discover the secrets that the Organization is trying to hide."

"Excellent," DiZ announced. "As soon as he gives you everything you need, then you can eliminate him."

Vanitas looked directly at DiZ with shock on his face, while the man in red just looked at him plainly.

"What?" DiZ asked confused.

"You want me to destroy Axel?" Vanitas asked.

"Well, once he's fulfilled his purpose, yes," DiZ informed him, not understanding why Vanitas was shocked. "What, is there something wrong with that?"

"Yeah, _lots_ ," Vanitas informed the man with anger in his voice. "He's a nice and funny guy. He's been helping me figure out the truth of that group. He risked being destroyed by his bosses to help me out; I am _not_ going to kill him!"

"You're not killing him," DiZ informed in an attempting-to-be-reasoning voice. "He was never meant to exist in the first place, so you're not doing anything wrong."

Vanitas scoffed at his words and looked up at Riku.

"And _you're_ okay with this?" He snapped.

Riku just looked at him with a blank expression.

"I'll do anything to make sure Sora's safe," he informed Vanitas. "And if it means destroying people like this, then I have no problem."

Naminé's face fell slightly, but she quickly hid it, hoping no one noticed. Unfortunately for her, Vanitas did.

"You jackasses!" Vanitas exclaimed. He held up a hand to the blonde girl. "Naminé is a Nobody. What, once she's done helping us, you're just gonna dispose of her as well? That isn't right, man, and you guys know it."

"We are not discussing Naminé at this moment," DiZ remarked, irritation growing in his voice. "We are discussing how we are to combat Organization XIII. All of the members will need to be disposed of if we are to restore peace."

Riku nodded his head at that, while Naminé just looked down blankly. Vanitas nodded his head as well for a second, before he realized the full impact of DiZ's words.

" _All_ of them?" he asked.

"That is what I said, yes," DiZ confirmed, nodding his head.

"That's not right," Vanitas announced, garnering the others' attentions. "Not all of them are evil. They're only there because they don't know anything else. That doesn't condemn them to death."

"They never should have existed in the first place," DiZ remarked. "Instead of looking at it as murder, try to look at it as... cleansing a mistake."

Vanitas grit his teeth at DiZ's words to describe his friends. Clearly, the man had a prejudiced opinion towards Nobodies, but Vanitas had no idea why. In an attempt to try to get some clues, Vanitas did his best to use his telepathy to look into the man's head. It made him close his eyes in pain with a bit of a nosebleed, but he fought through the pain. Unfortunately, most of what he could see in the man's immediate mind was... darkness. All he saw was darkness.

Little flashes appeared in Vanitas' head, but they weren't as descriptive as he was hoping. Little bits along the lines of, "Revenge," "Vengeance," "Xehanort"... But a prominent term was, "Darkness in Zero." "DiZ." Now it made sense.

Vanitas gasped as he took his mind out of DiZ's. He managed to put together that DiZ was very intent on getting revenge on Xehanort, so Xemnas was his best shot. By why would he want to get revenge on Xehanort so badly? The only man he knew of that Xehanort had hurt so badly was...

Vanitas' eyes widened as he looked at DiZ in a new light. DiZ noticed and furrowed his visible eyebrows at the ravenette, a little curious about his nosebleed.

"If you have a problem with the way we operate things," DiZ announced. "Then you don't have to be in contact with us."

"Sounds reasonable," Vanitas admitted, pressing the buttons to the Vortex Manipulator behind his back.

"I would like back the teleporter, then," DiZ informed him, holding out his hand.

Vanitas took his hands out from behind his back and held up his left hand to get a better look at the device on his wrist.

"Yeah..." Vanitas said in thought. He looked up at DiZ and flipped him the bird with the hand that had the device on the wrist. "Nope."

Vanitas hit the button and teleported away in a flash of light, surprising Naminé once again. Riku just looked at DiZ with a blank look on his covered face.

"Maybe giving him a device that can take him to a different world with just a push of a button wasn't such a good idea," Riku commented.

"I'm starting to think that," DiZ agreed.

* * *

"So I guess I won't be getting help from those pricks," Vanitas admitted to Tony and Bruce at the table.

They had gathered with a couple of lab assistants for a dinner consisting of cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, shakes, and various sodas. Tony and Bruce had gathered near the end so he could fill them in on the latest developments with his crusade against the Organization. Needless to say, they were a little surprised at it all.

"So the guy who gave you your teleporter is a douche bag," Tony assessed. "Who plans on making sure all of the Nobodies, including the friends you've made, get murdered by someone."

"And Riku," Bruce continued. "The guy you almost considered a friend an ally, is willing to be the one to commit that murder if it helps Sora wake up?"

"That sounds about right," Vanitas commented, grabbing an onion ring and dipping it in some sauce. "Honestly, you think you know someone."

"Okay, simple solution," Tony announced. "You have to protect you friends. Keep Riku away from them, and I'm sure you can keep them safe."

"Yeah," Vanitas said, nodding his head in thought. "Yeah, that should be easy. I just gotta make sure..."

Vanitas paused as he felt a vision start. He gripped his head in usual pain and exclaimed as he covered his closed eyes with his hand. People got up and crowded around him since they were shock, because they had never seen him have a vision before. Tony and Bruce were at the epicenter, concerned for their younger friend. Vanitas cried out as the first of the vision started.

On the bridge outside of Beast's Castle, Xion stood facing Riku with her Keyblade, while Riku stood ready with his sword. Xion put up a decent fight against Riku, but Riku was much stronger and more experienced. He defeated Xion in minutes, leaving her on her knees. Her Keyblade flew through the air and ended up in the ground in front of her as Riku stood a few feet in front of her with his back to her. She quickly fell right to the ground, semi-conscious, as Riku dismissed his sword and turned to face her.

Riku walked over to her and kneeled down as she breathed in and out, trying to stay conscious. He pulled back her hood with one hand, and uncovered one eye from his blindfold with the other. He opened his eye, which then widened at the sight of Xion's face. Given that apparently everybody saw Xion differently, Vanitas wondered what Riku saw.

Riku let the blindfold cover his eye again and stood straight up in shock as Xion got on her hands and knees, still looking down. 

"Your face..." Riku softly said, still in shock. "Who are you really? And why do you have a Keyblade?"

Xion slid her hood back over her face and braced herself up onto her knees.

"Tell me first..." Xion countered, looking up at Riku. "Why you are dressed as one of us."

Riku turned away from her and started walking over to where her Keyblade was still stabbed into the ground.

"To make sure my best friend..." Riku told her. "Sleeps in peace."

He continued as he stopped at her Keyblade and pulled it out of the ground.

"I don't know who you're supposed to be," Riku remarked as he held up the Keyblade to observe it closer. "But... you can't fight fire with sparks. This Keyblade... it's a sham. Worthless."

He coldly turned towards her and tossed the Keyblade back near Xion. She watched roll across the ground and land behind her.

"My Keyblade is not a sham!" Xion exclaimed. She looked back up at him. "What gives you the right to say that?"

She quickly grabbed her Keyblade and charged at Riku. She swung at his head, but he ducked under it. He swiftly, and, admittedly, very cooly slid behind her on one knee and swung his closed right fist into her back. Time seemed to slow down as she fell face first to the ground, her Keyblade dismissing itself. Riku stood up and looked down at her prone form.

"Find a new crowd," Riku informed her. "Trust me. Those guys are bad news."

He turned away from her and walked a few feet down the bridge. She got up on her hands and knees again and looked at him.

"Why?" Xion asked, stopping him. "You're the real sham."

"Fair enough," Riku simply admitted. "You could say I am... the biggest nobody of them all."

Riku walked away, still pretty coldly, leaving Xion to cry out in despair on the bridge.

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended. He looked up to see the people who were calmly having dinner a few minutes ago crowded around him, worried expressions on their faces. Tony and Bruce were at the front, both a little understanding, knowing he possibly had a vision.

"Too late," Vanitas told the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit, I'm a little 'eh' on Riku and Naminé being together, but done right, they can be kind of cute together. I don't know if I can do it right, but I would like to find out eventually


	12. Distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas and Roxas want to help Xion with the fallout from her defeat by Riku, but she only pushes them away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take more advantage of Vanitas' fire abilities here, giving him a sort of team attack similar to the ones we see in KH II. And since there are versions of those in the Kingdom Hearts Timeline that I'm using this as references in, I decided to develop one for Vanitas.

The trio of Vanitas, Tony, and Bruce cleared away the crowd quickly, then added the information from his vision into their latest reports. They even put Riku and DiZ into the database as possible hostiles, and Naminé as a possible prisoner.

During the night, Vanitas had a vision of Roxas and Axel having their ice cream, and Xion in her bedroom in the Castle That Never Was, sad over Riku's words. Roxas wrote in his journal about wanting to give a 'WINNER stick' to Axel, but decided against it since he didn't have one for Vanitas or Xion. While Xion wrote obvious determination to prove that she isn't a sham, while still bad-mouthing Riku. Vanitas didn't blame her.

The vision shifted to Roxas going up a staircase to the Grey meeting Area, but stopped when he saw Xion begging Saïx for another chance. All Saïx told her was that she was a mistake they shouldn't have made and walked away. When Roxas tried consoling Xion, she ran past him in sadness down the stairs. It extended to show that Roxas and Xaldin would be having another mission together in Beast's Castle.

"You gonna stay here again?" Tony asked after Vanitas explained his vision to them.

"Actually, no," Vanitas informed them, slipping on the tattered jacket of the SHIELD jumpsuit. "I might have to make sure I can't be seen by Xaldin, but I can still traverse around to witness the mission."

"How do you plan to do that?" Bruce asked, curious.

"With very accurate parkour skills," Vanitas informed them.

Before Tony or Bruce could ask what he meant by that, Vanitas pressed the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator to take him to Beast's Castle. This time, he was on the tallest part of the wall between the courtyard and the bridge. He looked down into the courtyard to see a corridor of darkness open, and Roxas and Xaldin walking through. After quick conversation, the two entered the front doors of the castle to look for their target.

Bracing himself, Vanitas leaped off of the top of the wall and landed on the ground in a roll. Quickly and quietly, Vanitas followed Roxas and Xaldin through the doors and saw them dispatching Heartless with their respective weapons. When Xaldin started to turn to look towards the doors, Vanitas lunged behind a column as quickly as he could. After a few minutes, the sound of fighting died down, and footsteps got fainter, signaling that the two were gone.

Peeking around the pillar, Vanitas saw them going up the stairs to the West Hallway. Bracing himself, Vanitas climbed up the column next to him and held onto the various parts of the ceiling to follow the two up the stairs into the West Hallway. Not only did he climb along the parts of the ceiling, but leaped along them when they were too far to climb. They went into the central part of the West Hallway, where they found their target: the Dark Follower. It was pretty much a purpler version of the Darkside.

The fight took a while, with it going pretty much the same way it did when Vanitas had fought the Darkside with Sora, both times. The Follower punched the floor causing shockwaves, or depositing Shadows, dispelling orbs from its chest, or making orbs fall from the air. They fought it off for a while before they destroyed the giant Heartless completely.

A roar garnered the attentions of Roxas and Xaldin, though, before they could leave. They went to the door to the Beast's room, still followed by Vanitas still leaping along the walls. They all heard Beast roar about how he couldn't bear to think about what would happen if the last petal to the rose fell, and Xaldin assessed that Beast's form was tied with the rose. He then announced it was time to leave. Vanitas hit the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator, and disappeared in a flash of light. What both him and Roxas missed was Xaldin looking up in curiosity at where the light had flashed. Xaldin decided it wasn't worth checking out at the moment, but stayed vigilant.

* * *

Roxas met up with Vanitas and the two of them went to the clock tower together, where they waited for Axel and Xion.

"Where were you yesterday?" Roxas asked.

"I got pulled away by other arrangements," Vanitas admitted.

"Was it with one of those 'whores' you mentioned?" Roxas asked.

"No, you misunderstand," Vanitas told him with a slight chuckle. "I don't associate with whores, but I also don't judge people that do. I was just chatting with an ally that needed help."

Axel then walked through the entrance, a little surprised to see them already there waiting.

"Where's Xion?" he asked as he walked past them to his usual spot.

"Haven't seen her today," Roxas informed him.

"Nothing," Vanitas added. "Nope, nada, zilch... haven't seen her."

"Oh, well," Axel commented as he sat in his usual spot next to Roxas, while he and Vanitas took bites of their bars.

Axel took a bite of his own bar before Roxas decided to voice his thoughts.

"Axel... V..." he started.

"Hm?" Axel asked.

"What's up?" Vanitas asked.

"Is there anything either of you guys couldn't bear to lose?" Roxas asked.

"Anything _I_ couldn't bear to lose?" Axel asked.

"Not off the top of my head," Vanitas admitted.

"What's that about?" Axel asked.

"Well, I met someone today who had something like that," Roxas told them, not knowing Vanitas was there. "This thing was so important to him he couldn't bear to lose it... and Xaldin said that was his weakness. Why don't I have something like that?"

"It's because you don't have a heart," Axel informed him.

"I guess..." Roxas said in thought. "But Demyx doesn't have a heart..." He put his ice cream bar in his other hand and playfully swatted at Axel. "...and I bet he'd get upset if you took his sitar away."

The three laughed as they settled down a bit.

"Huh..." Axel said in thought. "I think you have a point there. So you don't need a heart to have something that you can't bear to lose then."

"Of course not," Vanitas commented. "Just because you have a slight problem like that doesn't mean you can't have something like that in your life." He looked off in thought. "Besides, sometimes... it can be some _one_ you can't bear to lose."

"Maybe," Axel admitted. "But anyway, if that's true, then I guess the closest thing that we Nobodies have would be memories of our past. It's the memories that create the things that we don't want to lose."

"Memories of the past..." Roxas said in thought. "I don't remember _my_ past."

"So stop throwing that in his face, man," Vanitas remarked in defense of his friend.

Axel ignored Vanitas.

"Even though you might not remember the past," he continued. "I'm sure you have things you don't wanna lose."

"Like what?" Roxas asked.

"You've got memories since you joined us, right?" Axel asked him.

"Memories of being with your friends," Vanitas added.

"I dunno..." Roxas admitted, looking out at the sunset, then down at the ice cream bar in his hand. "I do, don't I?"

He raised the bar up so it was in front of his face so he could get a closer look.

"I couldn't bear to lose my memories of you guys or Xion," Roxas informed them.

"So then you really do have something that you can't bear to lose, right?" Axel asked.

"It sounds like a reasonable thing," Vanitas added.

"Every one of us, including us Nobodies," Axel continued. "We all have something that we want to hang on to."

"It's scary," Roxas admitted, looking out in thought.

"Sometimes, yeah," Vanitas admitted, looking out with him in thought. "You worry about that thing, or if it's a person, that someone to be safe. You do anything to protect that thing or person. And how far you're willing to go to do it... can be frightening."

Vanitas' thoughts extended to the exact people he couldn't bear to lose. Two of them were on each side of him, and the others were incapacitated at the moment. If anything happened to his friends... he didn't even want to think about it.

"You can't be scared without a heart!" Axel informed Roxas.

"If my friends..." Roxas said, looking down. "If you guys or Xion were to disappear... It's...scary to think of what it would be like without you guys."

"I know the feeling," Vanitas informed him.

"'Scared' is not an emotion that can exist inside us," Axel informed him.

"Well..." Roxas said in thought. "I am scared right now, for sure."

"Maybe it's just that you remember what it's like to be scared, you know?" Axel suggested. "Somewhere deep inside your memories."

Roxas nodded his head and they finished eating their ice cream in, semi-comfortable silence.

* * *

The next day, Vanitas shared a few more notes with Tony and Bruce about the latest developments with Roxas and Axel. At this point, it sort of felt like someone gossiping to his friends about other friends, but they didn't have as much business to discuss in the mornings anymore.

Once the vision of where Roxas would be having his mission started, Vanitas prepared by slipping on his jacket with the sling.

"You're gonna need a better suit soon," Tony informed him. "That thing's getting a little worn out."

"Yeah, it looks like my pants usually do when I turn into the Other Guy," Bruce commented.

Vanitas had to admit, they had a point. The jacket itself of the SHIELD outfit was torn up with bullet holes, slashes from blades or claws, or singes from various bits of fire... both from him and enemies. The pants were holding together, but it was only a matter of time before they started falling apart as well.

"Yeah, you're right about that," Vanitas admitted, putting in the co-ordinates in his Vortex Manipulator. "Don't worry. I've got an idea."

He pressed the buttons and appeared in front of the Train Station in Twilight Town. A dark corridor appeared next to him, and Roxas walked through, joining his friend. Something occurred to the two, and they looked up to the top of the clock tower. Both boys were a little surprised.

"Hey, isn't that..." Roxas started in realization.

They walked up to their usual spot to find Xion just standing there, staring out at the town in front of her.

"Hey, Xion!" Roxas called out, signaling their arrival.

She looked over to the entrance, and looked a little surprised to see them.

"Roxas? V?" Xion asked.

They walked over a bit to join her, Roxas directly beside her and Vanitas on his opposite side.

"Don't you have a mission?" Xion asked.

"Yeah," Roxas informed her. "They sent me here today."

"And I just do whatever," Vanitas reminded her. "So, I just followed him here."

"Really?" Xion asked. "Me, too..."

They all looked out at the city together. Out of the corner of his eye, Vanitas saw Roxas look at Xion intently before looking back out at the city, then Xion looked at him intently before looking out at the city as well. This made Vanitas feel like a third wheel again, and irritated him slightly that these two weren't together, the ridiculous restrictions of Nobodies be damned. Vanitas was drawn from his thoughts when Xion looked dow in sadness.

"Roxas, I'm sorry," she announced. Vanitas wasn't even surprised that her immediate attention was drawn to the blonde. "I shouldn't have run off like that yesterday."

"Whatever, it didn't bother me," Roxas tried consoling her. (Vanitas then thought that he should probably inform his friend of better words for trying to console people once these two became more acquainted with actual words.)

"I was upset," Xion informed them. "I messed up a mission really bad. I don't suppose you heard about the guy pretending to be one of us? The Organization imposter?"

Vanitas pretended to have a vision triggered by her words, so that he could discuss things with them.

"I was ordered to take him out," Xion continued. "But I couldn't beat him. Saïx was so mad, he called me a 'mistake'."

"That dick!" Vanitas commented, keeping his voice low.

"Oh..." Roxas said in worry for her. "Gosh, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," Xion informed him. "That jerk can say whatever he wants. I can take it."

Roxas continued staring at her intently, obvious desire to make her happy in his eyes. He turned to face her, already getting an idea.

"Hey, Xion," Roxas said. "Why don't we work together today?"

"Huh?" Xion asked. "How?"

"Let's double up our missions," Roxas explained. "If we team up, we should be able to cut through the work faster."

Xion looked down, then turned to face him and smiled.

"Well...okay?" she said, nodding her head once. "Maybe we'll finish early and have more time for ice cream."

"Sounds like a plan," Vanitas commented, pulling out a SPAS-12 shotgun and putting it into auto fire mode.

They got to work quickly. Xion's mission was to collect Organization emblems, and Roxas' was to take out an Avalanche. Since Xion's was easier, they decided to do that first. They went through the town taking out Heartless in their way as they collected the emblems. One was there in the station, two were in the underground concourse, and the last one in the tunnelway. During that part of the mission, Vanitas couldn't help but pay attention to the fact that Xion and Roxas still had eerily similar fighting styles. So similar that it was almost like they were the same person...

Vanitas shook his head at that thought. He was already dealing with two different versions of his old apprentice-mates from Radiant Garden, two versions of Sora, and three versions of Xehanort. He didn't need another version of anybody else.

Their next task was to track down and destroy the Avalanche, so they exited the underground concourse and travelled to the Sandlot. Almost immediately, barriers went up in front of the exits to the area, boxing them in. Above the center of the area, a whitish-grey dragon monster floated in the air with shards of ice falling from its mouth and shattering on the ground. The Avalanche roared at them.

Xion started her own combo attack while Roxas surrounded himself with Reflect as shards of ice surrounded him. Vanitas encased his katana in fire and slashed through all the shards of ice that came near him. Roxas jumped up to do his own combo attack before ice shards knocked him back. Vanitas leaped forwards in a spinning attack with his sword raised so that it hit the Heartless each time he flipped forwards in the air.

Once Vanitas landed on the ground again, Xion went to work with her aerial combo, while Vanitas got an idea. He surrounded his sword and Roxas' Keyblade in fire, and he surrounded them in fire to protect them from the attacks. And when Xion landed near them, he added fire to her as well. Whenever fire came too close to them, it shattered immediately, doing no damage to them whatsoever. The perfect opportunity.

The three charged at the Heartless, dodging as it tried doing a vertical spin attack. Roxas, Xion, and Vanitas did strong slashes with their weapons that caused a lot of damage to the ice based Heartless, soon followed by sliding slashes inwards, similar to sonic blade, then did many stabs into the many parts of the dragon-like Heartless. The end of the move started when the three of them landed on the ground. They all raised their weapons into the air and pointed them at the Heartless. Strong beams of fire shot out of their weapons and right into the same spot on the Heartless, and caused a big explosion that caused a lot of damage to the boss before the fire faded from around them.

"What the hell was that?" Roxas asked Vanitas, Xion's face in similar confusion.

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Team attack?"

Immediately after Vanitas said that, the three of them were knocked back by more ice shards that zoomed in to attack them. Roxas and Xion took turns attacking with their combos while dodging with Reflega, while Vanitas shot at the Avalanche with a revolver. Reflega didn't always work, so Roxas had to help Xion by healing them both with Cura.

After getting hit a few more times, Roxas used his Limit Break attack to do many quick strikes with his Keyblade before doing combo finishers that involved sending bluish-white pillars into the dragon-like Heartless. Once he was out of the way, Vanitas swung his sword many more times with his sword and fired his revolver, doing a bit of damage on his own. But then Roxas and Xion began their own team attack, and Vanitas smartly got out of their way.

First, the two of them rose into the air and swung their Keyblades at the Heartless with fast, strong strikes for a good, long while, knocking it back.

"Get over here!" Roxas exclaimed as the two of them floated into the air next to each other.

They then both moved onto each side of the and stabbed their Keyblades into its body mulitple times. Vanitas made sure to add some cover fire with his revolver, but was careful not to use fireballs since they were more inconvenient than bullets. As if he even needed to do anything at that point. Roxas and Xion floated next to each other again, Roxas taunting "Ready for round two," while Xion announced, "I won't give in."

Their next attack led to them floating around the Avalanche and swinging their blades in attacks many times, in very intricate ways, before energy burst out of their Keyblades, which eventually caused enough damage to finish off the boss.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Roxas taunted as he and Xion landed on the ground and high-fived.

"Whoa..." Vanitas remarked, awestruck.

"Sorry, you gave me the idea for a Team Attack," Roxas admitted.

"They _are_ pretty tough," Xion added as they dismissed their Keyblades.

"Yeah, I know," Vanitas informed them, sliding his weapons back into his sling, then crossing his arms. "That's why I plan on being more active the next time you guys do that."

Roxas and Xion chuckled as they followed Vanitas to the clock tower. Vanitas could sense a desire in both of their heads to grab the other's hand as they followed him, but both of them decided against it.

_Fucking cowards,_ Vanitas thought, rolling his eyes as he walked down the road.

* * *

The three of them got to the clock tower and sat in their usual spots, just them at the moment. Vanitas and Roxas munched on their bars while Xion stared out at the town once again in thought. Roxas smiled at Xion before looking at Axel's empty spot.

"I wonder where Axel is," Roxas tried telling her to ease her out of her thoughts. "Guess we got the work done a little _too_ fast, huh?"

"Been there, done that," Vanitas commented.

Xion continued to look down in thought, barely even registering them. Vanitas got a nosebleed as he glimpsed into her head, seeing that she was having a flashback of her own to her fight with Riku, when he insulted her. After a little while, Roxas realized she was being a little too quiet, and he stood up.

"Xion?" he asked in worry. "Xion!"

She gasped, as if she was just realizing her surroundings.

"Something wrong?" Roxas asked.

"Everything all right?" Vanitas asked.

"Sorry," Xion told them. "My mind's on other things."

"Roxas," she started, turning back to look at him. "Do you ever think... about why we're doing all of this?"

"What do you mean, why?" Roxas asked. "So we can get hearts of our own, right?"

Xion looked down. Vanitas just felt his own desire to figure out the real plan Xemnas had, specifically so he could protect his friends from it.

"But what do we need hearts for?" Xion asked.

"I don't know," Roxas admitted. "But I think once we have hearts, we probably won't have to think about why we're doing all this, or if we need hearts."

_And maybe you two idiots will get the sense to be together,_ Vanitas thought.

"I'm not sure," Xion admitted. "I just wish..." She looked into her free hand. "I knew what I was doing here." She closed her hand into a fist, then covered her face with her hand. "I started having the strangest dreams."

"Like nightmares?" Roxas asked in worry as she lowered her hand.

"Those are never good," Vanitas commented.

"I can never remember what they're about," Xion explained. "I just...wake up scared."

She stood up and turned away from the two of them. As she stepped forwards a bit, Roxas smiled slightly as he got an idea.

"Xigbar said you and me were pretty special," he told her, causing her to stop and start to turn to face him. "'Exceptional,' he said."

"Special?" Xion asked. "Isn't that..." She looked out at the city again. "...just another way of saying that I'm a mistake?"

"Hell, no," Vanitas remarked.

"You're not a mistake," Roxas insisted, desperation in his voice.

Roxas stared at her with worry and desire to help her in his eyes as she just continued to stare out at the city.

"Well, you and I may both be exceptional, Roxas," Xion announced, softly. "But..." She turned to look at him. "I don't think we're quite the same."

She held up her uneaten ice cream bar to him, which he took in confusion. He looked at the bar for a second before lowering it and watching her walk through the pathway, away from them. He wanted to go after her, but didn't know what he could have said to help her, so he stayed rooted in a little bit of shock.

"Xion..." Roxas softly called, worry in his voice.

Vanitas stood up and patted his friend on the shoulder in sympathy, which he nodded his head at in appreciation. They sat down in their spots, Roxas holding the bar in his hand as Vanitas kept his hand on his friend's shoulder. After a little while of sitting there in silence, Axel suddenly appeared in the opposite entranceway on their right.

"Heya, guys!" Axel called, signaling his arrival.

"Axel..." Roxas greeted as the redhead sat in his spot.

"Hey, man," Vanitas greeted, nodding his head.

"Xion couldn't make it again today?" Axel asked.

"Actually, you just missed her," Roxas informed him.

Roxas closed his eyes, and saw a vision of his own. Sora and Vanitas walked through the grassy plains not too long ago and ended up in the intersection in the road, about to find Marluxia. When that ended, Roxas frowned slightly in realization. He didn't know who the guy in red was, which is why he called him The Guy in Red in his journal, but he couldn't help but notice that he looked a lot like Vanitas. And now that he thought about it, Vanitas has been in a lot of the visions he's seen involving The Guy in Red, fighting with or laughing at him. Were they connected somehow?

Roxas shook his head and looked down at the bar in his hand. He'd figure that out later. Right now, he was a little preoccupied with worrying about Xion.

Vanitas himself, was also thinking about how to do about the situation.

* * *

Once he got back to Avenger's Tower, before he joined with Tony and Bruce to compare notes, Vanitas had a slight vision of both Roxas and Xion writing down notes in their journals. They both explained in their books about how they knew that they were both different. Roxas expressed that he worried about Xion, and Xion wrote that she wasn't ready to see Roxas, and that she's been dreaming. Things made a dark turn when she wrote that in a dream she had the previous night, she was drowning.

"So what's the plan now?" Tony asked as Vanitas finished explaining the sadness Xion was feeling at the moment.

"We keep an eye out for Riku on the field," Vanitas informed them. "He hurt one of my friends, and I'm not gonna stand for that. Once I find him, I'm gonna kick his ass."

"You sure you can do it?" Bruce asked, eyebrow raised in worry.

"Of course," Vanitas assured them. "I mean, just because I don't have a Keyblade anymore doesn't mean I can't still kick ass."

"No arguments there," Tony remarked. "I still remember, some of your punches actually dented that suit when we met."

"Exactly," Vanitas remarked, gesturing to him with his left hand.

"Well, whatever you're gonna do, I suggest getting a new fighting suit," Bruce informed him. "I mean, really, either fix the jacket or replace it."

"Honestly," Vanitas announced, looking down at the SHIELD jacket he was wearing. "I don't see this getting fixed anytime soon."

"So what're you gonna do?" Tony asked.

Vanitas thought about it for a second before he walked past the two of them to the nearest console.

"Hey, JARVIS," he called out. "You still good at designing things?"

"Of course," the AI informed him, running a blue light over Vanitas. A blue hologram appeared over the console in front of him, SHIELD outfit and all. "I still manufacture most of the Iron Man suits."

"That's good," Vanitas announced. He swiped at the hologram so instead of the SHIELD outfit, the little digital him was wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants. "'Cause I'm gonna need help on designing a new outfit for myself."

"What did you have in mind?" JARVIS asked.

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted as he remembered a movie from when he was a kid. "But I do know one thing."

Remembering how Hugh Jackman and James Marsden looked in that movie on the Earth he was from, Vanitas got a basic look of a plain black leather jacket and plain black leather pants.

"It will look fucking sweet," Vanitas announced, determination in his voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added another one to the Marvel series, so that it's not made up entirely of Vanitas being in the universe. Plus, I really like the idea of a specific duo, one guy from Kingdom Hearts and one guy from that movie, working together.
> 
> Also, of course Roxas would be more open to cussing than Sora. We've seen that Roxas is more responsible and wise than Sora, so he is a lot more of an adult figure than Sora could possibly be in canon. So why wouldn't he be more open to cussing?
> 
> And of course, I cannot recommend the episode of the Timeline I use here, Episode 79: Unlike Minds, enough. It's a good example of how much dedication they put into this by having a Kingdom Hearts II version of the battle with that Avalanche, with switching perspectives of the Roxas AI and the Xion AI. It's awesome.
> 
> Oh, and I think I've figured it out the right time frame for the game to do The Winter Soldier. Like I said, it has to be when Roxas is more skilled with the Keyblade, but I recently realized it also has to still be a moment where Xion is still semi-happy. Luckily, I found one. And luckily, it's also two or three Timeline episodes away. I think. I haven't watched a lot of the episodes in a while


	13. The Wrong Buttons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a mission in Halloween Town, Vanitas and Axel give Roxas dating advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, that's basically what they do here 😂

Vanitas spent the night going over ideas for what he could do for his new battle outfit. It should have been easy, but since he couldn't get hurt, he cared more about how it looked. None of the initial designs looked good enough, which annoyed him greatly.

Waking up bright and early the next day, Vanitas was able to see that Roxas' mission for the day took him to Halloween Town, so he put on the remains of his gear and activated his Vortex Manipulator to the end of the alleyway.

"How's Xion doing?" he asked his friend as they walked down the road to the gate.

"I don't know," Roxas admitted. "I couldn't find her anywhere around the castle last night. And when I knocked on her door, she never answered. I'm really worried about her."

"Yeah, I noticed," Vanitas commented. "You were really sad when she just left yesterday. Hell, I've only seen that level of sadness in a person, like, two or three times."

 _Sora when he lost Kairi_ , Vanitas thought. _Aqua when Terra fell to the darkness. 12 when he lost Clara._ _No. Let's not go there; I'm too busy to want to be sad right now._

"Any idea what I'm supposed to do?" Roxas asked as they passed a balloon.

"Well," Vanitas said as he placed a hand to his chin in thought. "Maybe you can try-"

Both of them stopped and paused their conversation in confusion. They looked back down the alley and furrowed their eyebrows in confusion.

"That's weird..." Roxas commented.

"It's very quiet at the moment," Vanitas commented.

"And that's what's weird," Roxas remarked as they looked around in confusion. "Where did all the Heartless go? We should've seen some by now."

"And I've been here, this place has a strong Heartless problem," Vanitas remarked.

"And what's that?" Roxas asked, looking at the balloon.

They walked over to the balloon to get a closer look. It was purple with the design of glazed over eyes and sharp teeth made into a creepy smile. The bottom of the balloon was tied with a red string, which had a pink and yellow bow on the bottom.

"This wasn't here before," Roxas remarked with a hand on his chin in thought.

"This might actually be one of the creepier things I've seen on this world," Vanitas commented. "Which is saying something."

They shook it off for the moment and entered the town square. The two of them paused as they saw Jack Skellington and Dr. Finklestein near the fountain with a balloon in front of them.

"Well, Doctor?" Jack asked him. "What do you think!? I've put a few new 'ideas' in place for this coming Halloween."

"Oh?" the doctor asked.

"These balloons contain a terrifying trick!" Jack excitedly informed him. "Anyone who touches them is in for quite a shock!"

"I see, I see!" Dr. Finklestein said in thought, nodding his head. "Interesting... Be sure to tell me about any more 'ideas' you have, Jack."

"I will, Doctor!" Jack excitedly informed him.

The doctor wheeled his chair down the road back to his lab, leaving Jack alone. Jack put one arm in front of his torso and put his other hand to his head in thought.

"Hmm..." he muttered. "It's not enough, though. My perfectly petrifying Halloween is still missing something..."

Jack walked away in thought. Once he was out of sight, Roxas and Vanitas walked up to the balloon to get a closer look.

"Terrifying trick?" Roxas asked. "Is there something inside?"

"Knowing that guy," Vanitas started. "Most likely."

"You know him?" Roxas asked, not at all surprised.

"Long story, he almost destroyed the town," Vanitas admitted.

They pulled the string from the balloon, and it flew up into the air, depositing green gas and beetles. It was more gross than terrifying, so they went into the nearest graveyard, where balloons were around, and Jack was talking in front of his ghost his dog, Zero.

"What could it be..." Jack said in thought. "What's missing?"

Zero flew side to side to garner his attention.

"What is it, Zero?" Jack asked the dog. "I'm busy brainstorming..."

Zero flew over to the nearest balloon and gestured to it with his nose. Jack followed his dog and looked at the balloon with him.

"Is there something special about that balloon?" he asked Zero.

The balloon suddenly popped, revealing a Ghost Heartless inside. Jack jumped in surprise before the Heartless flew up into the air and out of sight.

"Well, that was unexpected!" Jack exclaimed. "A Heartless popped out." He put his hand to his chin. "How strange. I certainly didn't put anything like that inside. Aha!" He gestured in an "I got it" fashion. "Someone else must have decided to add a new level of terror by hiding a Heartless inside!" He put his hand back to his head in thought. "I'd better keep brainstorming, or they'll think of all the good ideas first..."

Once again, he looked up in an "I got it" fashion.

"Wait!" Jack exclaimed. "I've got it!"

Zero waved his nose at him in an appreciative manner.

"You were trying to give me a hint, weren't you, Zero?" Jack asked. "What a good boy! You deserve a treat."

Jack pulled a bone out of... somewhere, and Zero floated side to side in an appreciative manner. Jack tossed the bone, which Zero caught in his mouth.

"I'm going to run over to Dr. Finklestein's lab right now!" Jack announced. "This new idea is really going to wow him!"

Jack turned and walked out of the graveyard, right past Roxas and Vanitas in their hiding spot. The two walked out and looked at Zero across the yard from them.

"So that floating doggy thing can sniff out Heartless?" Roxas asked.

"I do not remember him doing that before," Vanitas admitted. "Oh, and fyi, he's a ghost dog, and his name is Zero."

"Good to know," Roxas assessed. "Maybe if we give him a bone, he'll help us track them down."

"Sounds like a plan," Vanitas agreed, nodding his head. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Although, if he's a ghost, I kind of wonder where the bones go."

Roxas shared equal confusion on his face before the two of them looked around the graveyard and picked up various bones they could find. They approached Zero, who didn't really recognize Vanitas. It did make sense, since Vanitas still had a healthy glow to his skin, there wasn't a horrific bite on his neck, and his face was still intact with both his eyes. The only similarity to how when Vanitas was on this world with Sora is that now his jacket was just as rugged and torn as it was then.

Appearances aside, the two of them took turns giving Zero bone treats and letting him lead them to Heartless every time they gave him a bone. Once Heartless appeared, the two of them quickly took them out, then they repeated the process. Once they were done in the area, they started to follow Zero out of the graveyard, when...

"Found ya!" a familiar bratty voice announced.

"Huh?" Roxas asked as they turned to see Lock, Shock, and Barrel behind them again.

"Catch!" Lock screamed.

This time, Vanitas was ready, and shot the pumpkin with a handgun in midair. The explosion was still enough to cause an impact, though.

"Waugh!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Ahhh ha ha ha!" Lock laughed with his friends. "Got you again!"

Vanitas cocked his single action magnum revolver in warning as Shock turned and started running away.

"Run away!" She yelled before Barrel followed her.

"Where to?" Barrel asked before he was followed by Lock.

"Our secret hiding spot!" Lock called as he followed the two.

"What in the world..." Roxas sighed out. "Those were the same kids that messed with us before."

"Like I said, they're tricksters," Vanitas informed him.

"I don't like them," Roxas admitted.

"It'd be weird if you did," Vanitas remarked.

With the kids gone, they re-entered the town square and continued the process of giving Zero bones and letting him lead them to Heartless. They went around the town square, taking out plenty of Heartless. Just as they ran out of bones, Zero had reached a spot that gave them enough Heartless to fill Roxas' quota. They thanked Zero for his help and left for the clock tower.

Roxas and Vanitas arrived first, as usual at this point, and sat in their usual spots as they waited, hopeful, for their friends. Eventually Axel arrived.

"Hey!" he greeted. "No Xion?"

"Don't hold your breath," Roxas informed him, sadly.

Roxas took another bite of his bar as Axel walked down the line and sat in his usual spot.

"Did something happen yesterday?" Axel asked.

"Nah, it's nothing," Roxas informed him.

"She's still really depressed about your dickhead friend's remark after her failed mission," Vanitas informed Axel as he and Roxas took bites of their bars.

Axel was silent for a second as he looked out at the city in front of them.

"Girls sure are complicated, huh?" Axel asked with a smile on his face.

"How do you know that's what I was thinking?" Roxas asked Axel, looking over at his friend. He frowned slightly. "Was Vanitas reading my mind again?"

"No, he doesn't have control of it, remember?" Axel reminded him. "If he tries, he gets a nosebleed." Vanitas nodded his head in agreement. "I figured it out because you're not so complicated. But don't take it personal. Most Nobodies aren't."

"You mean..." Roxas slowly put together. "...real people are more complex than us?"

"Not most of the time," Vanitas informed them. "Not all 'real' people travel to different worlds and fight beings of darkness."

"Very true!" Axel admitted, gesturing to Vanitas. "Especially if they're real and female. That's like a double dose of complicated."

"So..." Roxas said in thought. "...what about a Nobody girl like Xion?"

Vanitas and Axel looked at each other. They didn't even need Vanitas' telepathic abilities to know they were thinking the same thing. And that same thing was Roxas' reason for wanting to know more about girls, Xion in particular.

"Single dose," Axel informed him.

"Just a little complicated rather than very complicated," Vanitas added.

"I am so lost," Roxas admitted.

"Well, the important thing to remember when dealing with girls is not to push the wrong buttons," Axel informed him. "Got it memorized?"

Roxas looked at the redhead, then looked back down, his expression never changing.

"Hmm...yeah..." Roxas said. "Wish you'd told me that before."

"Well, just give her some time," Axel informed him.

"Why?" Roxas asked.

"Because if you just rush in there and try to fix things, you'll be pressing even more wrong buttons," Vanitas informed him. "Sitting back and letting her stew a bit, sometimes, that can be pressing the right ones."

"Fine, whatever," Roxas said, still not understanding.

Axel laughed at that.

"You're all right, kid," he commented.

"Don't call me 'kid'!" Roxas exclaimed.

Both Vanitas and Axel burst out laughing.

"Stop laughing!" Roxas exclaimed.

They did and looked at Roxas, Axel nodding his head.

"You'll patch things up with her," Axel informed him. "Trust me."

"I hope so," Roxas said. He looked up in thought. "Wait, what would some of the wrong or right buttons be?"

"Here's a tip," Vanitas announced. "There are a few things you can do to avoid pressing the wrong ones. Never ask her her age, never assume she's okay with everything, never ask her her weight..."

"That's a damn good one," Axel commented, pointing at Vanitas to emphasize the point.

"Never irritate her," Vanitas added. "You can try to be funny, but if it gets too annoying, then you're just gonna piss her off, and that's pressing a wrong one. You don't wanna do that."

"Uh, huh," Roxas said, nodding his head even though he didn't understand half of what Vanitas was talking about.

Vanitas continued listing off various instructions, and Roxas just kept nodding his head, not entirely understanding. Axel laughed as he looked out at the sunset, knowing things were gonna be interesting soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Vanitas is as much of a Whouffle shipper as I am. I get very sad just THINKING about the series 9 finale. And I haven't seen it! I just know what happens because of this site, and various bits of Wikipedia, and the Tardiswiki, and they really make me sad
> 
> Oh, and Celene, he doesn't exactly mention "whores" in a conversation in the story, that's one that happens off-screen, if you can call it off-screen for a book. After all, not every story shows every single conversation the characters have


	14. Lots of missions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas and Vanitas keep up their daily missions, while members of the Organization grow suspicious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lot of missions, lot of mental anguish from Roxas, more than a couple of laughs

The next day, Roxas had a mission to take out Heartless at Olympus Coliseum with Demyx, the lazy member of the Organization. Roxas explained the situation of the coliseum to Demyx, how they could take out Heartless while training in the coliseum to be aspiring heroes. Demyx managed to "strategically" talk himself into staying outside by claiming he was taking out the ones outside, when there were none outside whatsoever.

Keeping track with his visions, Vanitas watched as Roxas entered the vestibule, then entered the main part to see Phil training Hercules. To be safe, Vanitas waited a little while longer before he teleported to the world to help his friend. For good reason, because Demyx appeared next to him for a second and admitted that if he was training like that, he'd run crying, right before going back outside to take a nap.

Once Phil was done training Hercules, and Demyx was completely out of sight, Vanitas used his Vortex Manipulator to appear in the vestibule to join Roxas.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Roxas asked.

"Even if that guy's a lazy dumb-ass," Vanitas explained. "We can't let even him know about me. No telling what he'd tell your superiors."

"That's fair," Roxas admitted. "Like you said, lazy dumb-ass, but I guess he does things vital to the Organization, otherwise they wouldn't keep him around."

Vanitas nodded his head, and the two turned to see Phil entering the vestibule, who quickly noticed them.

"Hey, there's my rookie and favorite pyrotechnic!" Phil greeted. "Ready for today's training, kid? Just say the word."

"Um, okay," Roxas agreed, nodding his head.

"Good luck, buddy," Vanitas cheered.

Vanitas and Phil watched as Roxas did more training consisting of knocking barrels into Heartless to destroy them and collect the hearts. The two of them chatted, cheered, and laughed as Roxas trained for a very long time. Once the session was over, they started a new one. After many, many sessions of training, Roxas was leaning down with his hands on his knees, panting.

"Nice work," Phil congratulated. "That's a good run for one day. I gotta tell ya, kid. I'm impressed. I think you're ready for the big game. So, I'm clearing ya to enter the Games!"

"Holy, shit, nice job, man!" Vanitas congratulated, patting Roxas on the shoulder as the blonde stood straight up.

"You are!?" Roxas asked Phil in surprised amazement.

"Yep," Phil assured the two. "You can try for the Rookie Cup, anyway. And he is permitted to help if he's interested. I figure, you guys may or may not place, but at least you'll put up a decent show."

"You always make me happy with your affirmations," Vanitas sarcastically remarked.

"In the meantime," Phil continued. "We'll keep you up to your elbows in training; so stay sharp!"

"Speaking of which, who was that you were training before me?" Roxas asked.

"Oh, Herc?" Phil asked. "He's another student of mine. Been at it a long time now. Since before this guy had a scar."

"Holy shit, that's a long time," Vanitas assessed, looking at Roxas with wide eyes.

"Why were you working him so much harder than me?" Roxas asked the satyr.

"Is he that strong?" Roxas asked.

"We've arm wrestled," Vanitas informed him. "He beat me nine out of ten times. The tenth because I cheated."

Roxas' eyes widened at that. Vanitas had beat all three of them at arm wrestling easily every time they did it on the clock tower.

"Exactly," Phil informed them. "He's a hero, kid. If I put a squirt like you through that, you'd croak me. And it's not just that."

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

Even Vanitas had an eyebrow raised in confusion at that.

"Of all the heroes I've trained, he's special," Phil informed them. "Maybe the best. I got high hopes for him. He's gonna be 'the one'."

Roxas looked down in thought, and Vanitas saw that he was having a flashback of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and himself were talking to satyr in this very vestibule, about what he guessed was a very similar conversation. Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Roxas was unique in the sense that he and Sora existed at the same time, unlike most situations with Nobodies and Somebodies, which they guessed is why he had no memories about being Sora. Did the memories appear in the form of flashbacks when he got close to something Sora knew of?

"Ahem..." Phil continued. "Enough talk about Herc. You just worry about getting in shape for the tournament. I got two words of advice for ya... Eat. Sleep. Train!"

"Remember I got expectations for you too, kid," Phil continued.

 _So people work you harder when they have expectations?_ Roxas thought.

 _Yeah, they always hold you up to those expectations,_ Vanitas confirmed, which Roxas luckily heard. _Especially parents that have high expectations for their pothead teenagers that just want to goof around. I think that's why a lot of teenagers act out._

 _That actually kind of makes sense,_ Roxas thought, which then slipped out of Vanitas' mind. _The Organization expects me to do hard missions all the time. Aren't expectations the same thing as orders?_

"What?" Vanitas asked aloud. "I couldn't hear that part."

"Never mind," Roxas informed him. "See you."

"Bye," Vanitas waved before as Roxas walked to the exit doors.

"Hey, Phil," Vanitas called to get the satyr's attention. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have the best clothing situation right now."

"You can say that again," Phil commented. "You look like you went through a Hydra."

"I know," Vanitas said, looking down at his worn out jacket, wincing at the sight of it. "I'm working on something, but I'm gonna need something to tide it over. You got any recommendations?"

"Yeah, I know a guy in town," Phil informed him. He pulled a pouch out of nowhere and pulled a piece of paper and a quill out of it, then started writing a few things. "His name's Theodin, and he does a great job with what you request. This is his address."

Vanitas took the paper and nodded at the satyr.

"Thanks, Phil," Vanitas informed him, pressing the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator. "See you around."

He pressed the button, and teleported away in a flash of light. Outside, Roxas walked over to where Demyx was waiting for him.

"Hey, Roxas," Demyx greeted. "You done?"

"Huh?" Roxas asked, looking at him in confusion. "Yeah..."

He looked down in thought.

"What's up, man?" Demyx asked. "You look out of it."

"What kind of missions do you usually work?" Roxas asked him.

"Me?" Demyx asked. "Recon stuff, mostly."

"No taking out Heartless?" Roxas asked.

"Nah, it's rare that I do anything strenuous," Demyx admitted.

"But aren't you expected to?" Roxas asked him.

"Ha, they know better than that," Demyx remarked. "They wanna keep the machine running, they pick the right tool for the job."

"And that's me?" Roxas asked, hand on his chin in thought. "The right tool for the job?"

"Something happening in there, man?" Demyx asked.

"No, I just..." Roxas started. "Nothing. Our mission's complete. Let's RTC."

Roxas walked through the dark corridor, ready for the clock tower with at least Vanitas, while Demyx looked over his shoulder at the front doors of the Coliseum.

"But who was that scarred faced ravenette?" Demyx asked in thought. "He didn't look native to this world... I better report this in."

Demyx walked through the dark corridor, which closed behind him.

* * *

The next day, Roxas had a mission by himself, so Vanitas was able to appear with him at their origin spot. They appeared at the bottom of the rabbit hole in Wonderland, which Vanitas was a little happy to be back in. Roxas appeared through the dark corridor, and Vanitas teleported in with his Vortex Manipulator.

"This place... looks a little weird," Roxas remarked, looking around.

"It grows on you," Vanitas admitted.

"Oh, my fur and whiskers!" a familiar voice called. "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

They turned to see the White Rabbit from before run past them, then stop and look at the large pocket watch it was holding.

"Dear me!" the White Rabbit exclaimed. "I mustn't make Her Highness wait; I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

"No time to say goodbye," the White Rabbit called as he ran down the hallway in front of them. "Hello... I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

"What's his big rush?" Roxas asked, hand on his chin. "Maybe we should have a look up ahead."

"You know, time works differently between worlds," Vanitas informed his friend. "There's a chance this might be the same day from the last time I was here. If it is... then why the hell is a trial still going on?"

The two of them walked through the hallway and entered the Bizarre Room from before. The table and chair with the grow and shrink potions were still there, along with the clock, stove and chimney, counter and side chairs, and large door with the small door attached to it. The door was open, but they were distracted by the rabbit once again.

"Oh, I'm so late..." the White Rabbit yelled. "I'm so very, very late!"

They looked down to see the slightly smaller White Rabbit run across the floor and into the open door, which closed behind him.

"Did he... shrink?" Roxas asked, tilting his head.

"He drank from the bottle, you see," the doorknob informed him.

"Huh!?" Roxas asked in surprise, looking around in confusion. "Who..."

"You're looking in the wrong spot," Vanitas informed him.

"Down here," the doorknob called out.

They walked over to the door and kneeled down to get a better look at the living doorknob.

"A... talking doorknob?" Roxas asked.

"What's up, Jeeves?" Vanitas asked, waving a hand slightly at the living knob.

"Of course," the doorknob informed Roxas. "And a rather sleepy doorknob at that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going back to my nap."

"Wait, you said he drank from a bottle," Roxas remarked. "What bottle?"

"The one on the table," Vanitas informed his friend, gesturing to the two bottles on the table.

"Why don't you try?" the doorknob suggested.

"You mean those?" Roxas asked, looking at the bottles on the table.

"That's them," Vanitas informed him, standing up.

They walked over to the table and Roxas examined both bottles of medicine on top.

"The one with the blue label has a picture of a big tree shrinking," Roxas assessed.

"That's the one," Vanitas confirmed.

The two took turns drinking the liquid in the bottle, then promptly shrank down until they were the appropriate height to walk through the door. Roxas looked up at the ceiling, which was suddenly much higher than before.

"Whoa, it actually worked!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Told ya," Vanitas informed his friend.

He followed Roxas to the doorway, where the doorknob was snoring away, as to be expected.

"Hey, that rabbit went through here a minute ago, right?" Roxas asked.

Vanitas smirked as the doorknob just snored away.

"What's behind this door," Roxas asked.

"Roxas," Vanitas said after a few seconds. "He's not gonna wake up. See?"

He pulled a Walther P38 handgun and shot the nearby wall, which had no affect on the doorknob's consciousness.

"Nothing," Vanitas added, sliding the handgun into his holster.

"So I'm not gonna be figuring it out anytime soon?" Roxas asked.

"Dude, even _I_ don't know what's behind that door," Vanitas informed him. "I mean, I know where it eventually leads, but I don't know what's behind that specific door."

"Well, it's not really the mission, anyway," Roxas admitted.

To further the point, green and black floating, elemental pot-like Heartless appeared in the center of the room. Vanitas pulled his Walther P38 out of the holster and fired at the Heartless while Roxas summoned his Keyblade. While Vanitas fired his gun, Roxas fought off the Heartless with various combos and special attacks. Once those Heartless were destroyed, they were replaced with more elemental flying pots, these ones white and pink. His handgun empty, Vanitas helped Roxas fight them off with his spear, and the two quickly took them out.

After a few seconds, one of the nearby armchairs suddenly started bouncing around before it transformed into a Lurk Lizard.

"O-o-of course," Vanitas commented, twirling around his spear in preparation.

The Lizard faded in and out of existence as it charged around them, before doing vertical spin attacks towards them, which they blocked. Once the Lizard stopped lunging forwards, the two pressed their attacks, Roxas with combo attacks and Vanitas with slashes and stabs with his spear. That ended up being the entire fight. Letting the Lizard do its vertical spin attacks, blocking or dodging, and counter from the attacks with multiple combos. The Heartless did hit them once in a while, but it was nothing Cura and Potions couldn't fix. Timing them with his phone, Vanitas noticed that together, they had taken out the Heartless within about a minute and a half. Roxas ended up finishing the fight by using his Limit Break attack.

"You want me to just let me know whenever you need my help?" Vanitas joked as he slid his spear back into his sling.

They took the regrowing medicine and went back to their normal size before they started walking back the way they came so Roxas could use the dark corridor to leave.

"Where'd that White Rabbit go?" Roxas asked Vanitas. "He sure was in a hurry."

"Court," Vanitas informed him. "I guess he reads some things during it."

"Why was he so scared, though?" Roxas asked.

"The lady in charge is a bitch," Vanitas admitted. "Threatens everyone there under risk of decapitation for pretty much anything."

Roxas' eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the word "decapitation."

"She threatens to cut off their heads," Vanitas translated.

Roxas' eyes widened as he jumped slightly at his words.

"That's a little harsh," Roxas commented.

"You are not wrong," Vanitas informed him.

Roxas walked through the dark corridor while Vanitas used his Vortex Manipulator, and they were together on the clock tower within minutes. After a few minutes of eating their ice cream bars alone, Axel appeared.

"All by yourselves again?" Axel greeted.

"Yeah," Roxas admitted.

"Nice to see you, too," Vanitas remarked with snark.

Axel walked past them, sat in his usual spot, and started munching on his own ice cream bar.

"They've been keeping me busy, lately," Axel admitted. "Xion, too."

"Yeah, no kidding," Roxas commented.

Xion hadn't appeared at the clock tower since she told off Roxas, and Axel had been gone lately as well.

"C'mon, what's with the face?" Axel asked.

"Am I not good enough company?" Vanitas joked.

"What face..." was all Roxas remarked in any form of explanation.

With Roxas remaining quiet, the three of them kept eating their ice cream while looking out at the sunset.

* * *

The next day was another simple one. Roxas and Vanitas paired together to take out an unidentified giant Heartless in Beast's Castle. They appeared in the castle ballroom, and were immediately shaken by the sound of Beast roaring.

"Whoa!" Roxas exclaimed in surprise. "That was the beast... Did something happen?"

"We're here to take out an unidentified giant Heartless," Vanitas reminded him. "I think Beast might have found it."

They walked through the castle and out into the front courtyard. Halfway through the courtyard, they looked up in surprise.

"Huh?" Roxas asked in confusion.

"The fuck?" Vanitas asked as Beast himself flew over the top wall surrounding the courtyard.

The Beast flew through the air and landed, hard on the ground with multiple bumps. Roxas and Vanitas watched with wide eyes as Beast landed in front of them, clearly barely conscious.

"What could do this to him?" Roxas asked.

They looked up to the doors that led to the bridge.

"What the hell is out there?" Vanitas asked, voicing his and Roxas' thoughts.

The two ran through the doors onto the bridge and watched in surprise and shock as a gigantic living Heartless engine rolled itself down the bridge so it was facing them. Three mini soldiers were on top with bows and arrows, ready. Vanitas and Roxas were a little surprised at the sight of the Infernal Engine, but quickly took out weapons, ready for the fight.

It was a very long fight, Roxas with his Keyblade and Vanitas with his sledgehammer and Glock handgun. They had to dodge the various obstacles that the Engine provided them, while looking for opportunities to attack its front. Whenever the mouth opened and revealed a large battering ram was the best moment for them to attack. Attacking the battering ram was the best way to cause the most damage. After a long while of using combos, smashes with a hammer, and a lot of bullets, the Infernal Engine was eventually defeated. The wheels broke off causing the engine to fall to the ground. After a second, light flashed around the gigantic engine, transforming it into a crystal light that floated into the air and disappeared.

"Mission accomplished," Roxas assessed as they dismissed their weapons. "Time to head back."

They walked through the doors to the bridge, but stopped in the doorway as they heard a voice.

"No!" a familiar female voice called out. "Oh, no!"

Roxas hid in the doorway as they saw Belle approach Beast in the middle of the courtyard. Vanitas freaked out a little, and while Belle was focused on the Beast's unconscious form, he leaped up into the air. Luckily, his super strength went into affect here, and he ended up on top of the wall, high in the air. Like Roxas, though, he could still hear Belle's voice from his position.

"What happened?" Belle asked Beast. "Are you all right...?"

Beast opened his eyes and slowly looked at her next to him.

"...Belle..." he weakly got out. "Get back inside... It's too dangerous..."

"I'm taking you with me," Belle informed him.

"No..." Beast weakly argued. "I have to stop... those things..."

"But they're gone," Belle happily informed him. "You don't have to fight any more."

Beast looked at her, and she nodded her head in affirmation.

"Good..." Beast confirmed. "That's good. I managed to keep them from... getting in..."

"Please, you must stop doing this," Belle insisted. "It's too much. If something were to happen to you... I don't know what I'd..."

"How are _these_ two not an official couple yet?" Vanitas muttered as he watched Beast look at her once again.

"Belle..." Beast continued. "I couldn't bear to see you... or the others hurt. A master protects his castle... I don't want to lose you."

"I'm right here..." Belle informed him.

 _So he wasn't fighting to protect the rose_ , Roxas thought, which Vanitas heard in his head. _He was protecting the people in the castle. Protecting her. She's what matters most to him. But... Xaldin said it was the rose._

Vanitas was about to jump down off the roof to join his friend when something told him that someone else was there. Sure someone else was there, he tossed a small electronic bug that he had grabbed from Tony's lab towards his friend. Pulling out the smartphone Tony gave him, Vanitas turned on the bug and had it fly down to allow him to hear the conversation he was sure he was about to hear. Luckily, the bug was disguised as an actual bug, which planted itself onto a nearby wall. Vanitas inserted earbuds into his smartphone and placed them into his ears just as a familiar gravelly voice started speaking.

"Feh," Xaldin remarked, as if he heard Roxas' thoughts as well. "Cloying nonsense."

"Xaldin..." Roxas remarked in surprise, and a little worry. "When did you get here?"

"That's none of your concern," Xaldin snapped. There was a pause for a second. "Hmph. Love, from a beast? How utterly ridiculous."

"Love?" Roxas asked. "What's that?"

"It's an emotion," Xaldin informed him. "The one deluding those two as we speak."

"Oh..." Roxas said in a manner that Vanitas knew he did while looking down.

"They think the power of love will save them?" Xaldin asked. "That's the stuff of poetry, not practicality."

"Love is a power?" Roxas asked.

"None you or I will ever grasp," Xaldin informed him. "Nor will they, for long. The love between them will wither and die. Love never lasts."

"But you don't have a heart," Roxas countered. "How would you know?"

"I have eyes and a brain," Xaldin remarked. "We have no further business here. Try not to dawdle."

Roxas sighed out, turned, and, seeing that Beast and Belle were gone, started walking back into the castle to reach the dark corridor he took to get here.

"That still doesn't explain what love is..." Roxas muttered as he walked back to the castle doors. "Is love fighting to protect what's important to you? Where does its power come from?"

Vanitas had the bug return to him, then slipped it back into the dock he brought it in. After detaching the earbuds from his smartphone, Vanitas put away all three bits of technology before he started pressing buttons on his Vortex Manipulator. He disappeared in a flash of light...

Never noticing Xaldin in the middle of the field, looking up at the top of the wall with a smirk on his face.

"Well, well, well," Xaldin muttered with his arms crossed. "The lost apprentice returns. That's probably the first time I have to praise Demyx for anything. Lord Xemnas will be pleased by this information..."

* * *

Never knowing that Xaldin had noticed him, Vanitas made his way to the clock tower, where Axel was waiting, already eating his ice cream. The two chatted for a few minutes before Roxas arrived, still looking down in thought even as he reached his usual spot.

"Hey, here comes the hard worker," Axel greeted.

"Sorry for bailing on you," Vanitas apologized. "I freaked out a bit, so I just did the first thing I could think of."

Roxas shrugged off their words as he sat down in his usual spot. After a second, he looked up at them, hopeful in his eyes.

"Xion around?" Roxas asked.

"Haven't seen her," Axel admitted.

"Sorry, buddy," Vanitas told him.

"Oh..." Roxas said in sadness as he looked down.

"Somebody's gotta talk to that girl," Axel commented.

"It's her choice if she wants to come join us or not," Roxas reminded him, despair in his voice.

"I guess that's fair," Axel admitted, scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

"Axel, V, I need to ask you something," Roxas announced.

"What's up?" Axel asked, looking at his blonde friend. "Did something happen?"

"Nah, it's just..." Roxas shook his head. "This is gonna sound stupid." He looked at Axel and Vanitas. "Do you guys know what love is?"

"'Scuse me?" Axel asked, incredulously.

"I found out about love on today's mission," Roxas explained, which Vanitas remembered. "That it's something powerful."

"Well, you're not wrong," Vanitas admitted. "It's one hell of a power."

"But I'll never get to experience it," Axel remarked.

"Nobodies can't love?" Roxas asked.

"You need a heart, man," Axel informed him.

"Right..." Roxas sighed out.

"Love is what happens if there's something really special between two people," Axel explained.

"You mean, like, if they're best friends?" Roxas asked.

"Well, you can care about your friends, I guess," Axel admitted, scratching the back of his head again. "But that's not what I'm talking about."

"Love can be bigger than friendship, man," Vanitas informed him.

"So..." Roxas said in thought. "Love is like a step above friends?"

"Sort of," Vanitas admitted.

"There aren't 'steps'," Axel elaborated.

"I don't get it," Roxas said, looking down again.

"What does it matter?" Axel asked. "We'll never know the difference."

Roxas looked down in thought, and Vanitas was able to put together what was going through his friend's thoughts without even needing his telepathy.

"If I had a heart, you guys think I could love somebody?" Roxas asked.

"Once Kingdom Hearts is complete, you'll be able to do all kinds of things," Axel promised his friend.

"That's good," Roxas said, looking out at the sunset.

 _Man, let's be glad he didn't ask what sex was,_ Vanitas thought.

Unfortunately, the wrong person heard it in their head.

"What's sex?" Roxas suddenly asked.

Axel, who already had ice cream in his mouth, suddenly spat it out in surprise. Vanitas had his bar halfway to his mouth, but froze when he realized his mistake.

 _Damn wonky powers!_ Vanitas thought as he discreetly pressed the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator.

"I'm gonna leave this one to you," Vanitas informed Axel.

Axel tried yelling at Vanitas to stay, but the ravenette had already pressed the teleport button and disappeared. Axel looked from where Vanitas was sitting to where Roxas was currently sitting, and smiled sheepishly.

 _I am_ so _going to kill him_ _,_ Axel thought as he prepared himself for an awkward conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, V and Herc arm wrestling is another one of those things that happened off screen(?) in the first one.
> 
> Plus, the "What's sex?" gag was provided by an drawing I found on Instagram that did not fail to make me laugh. It went pretty much the way in the post as what happened here, minus Vanitas


	15. Fighting "Friends"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a little while of missions and having fun on Earth 616, Vanitas confronts someone he almost considered an ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't know where I wanted to place this chapter. It took me days of speculation to figure out where would be a good time in the story to have... this, happen. In the end, I'm still not completely sure this is a good place to have it, but I digress.
> 
> But look on the bright side: cameos galore!

Naturally, as Vanitas was spending a lot of time on Earth 616, he was around for the big holidays with his friends. Thanksgiving, which ended up being a few weeks before Riku and Xion's fight, he and Bruce actually joined Tony and Pepper for dinner, during which Vanitas finally got to meet the infamous Rhodey, aka War Machine, and Harley Keener, the kid who had helped Tony the previous Christmas. Vanitas had to admit, they were nice people, and he hoped to get to know them better over time. Plus, Vanitas was happy to have _one_ Thanksgiving memory without a goat at the dinner table.

Christmas, which was the day after Vanitas accidentally made Axel give Roxas The Talk, he spent in Avenger Tower with Bruce, watching classic Christmas movies and laughing at some of the absurd moments. In terms of gifts, Bruce gave Vanitas a complete box set of the Halloween franchise up to that point, and Vanitas gave the scientist smooth jazz CDs.

"How'd you pay for these?" Bruce asked as he looked through the CDs.

"Credit card," Vanitas informed him, pulling out said item. He furrowed his eyebrow and looked at it. "You know, I should probably give this back to Tony."

Bruce laughed at Vanitas' words and poured himself a mug of eggnog.

New Year's eve was a week later, and Tony orchestrated a full party in Avenger's Tower. Not only were fancy cats invited, but so were the other Avenger's. Tony was with Pepper, chatting away at the bar, Bruce was talking with Thor and Jane Foster, explaining their latest technological developments, even though Thor looked like he didn't understand most of what Bruce was talking about, Clint couldn't make it because of "prior engagements," and Vanitas was telling Steve, Natasha, and Rhodey about the end of his last adventure with Sora.

"Man, you must really hate gay guys," Natasha chuckled before taking a sip of her drink.

"Hey, I don't necessarily hate them," Vanitas corrected. "I've got an older brother who's gay... I think. It's kind of hard to tell with him."

"How is it hard to tell if he's gay or not?" Rhodey asked. "Isn't it usually pretty obvious?"

"Not with him," Vanitas admitted. "I remember, when I was a kid, his biggest pickup line was just his name."

"His name?" Natasha asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, I don't get it, either," Vanitas admitted. "Whenever he met anyone, men or women, he held up a hand, said is name, asked 'Who are you,' then when they told him, he flashed his smile and said 'Nice to meet you, etc, etc.'"

"And that actually worked?" Steve asked, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Both men and women swooned at his smile," Vanitas admitted. "And I'm pretty sure most of the men weren't gay, he's that good!"

"Okay, now it kind of makes sense that it'd be confusing," Steve admitted.

"On the subject of relationships," Natasha smirked, looking at Steve. "How's your love life going?"

"Oh, uh," Steve muttered, suddenly embarrassed by the sudden shift of attention. "It's uh... slow. But, it's coming along."

"You're a ninety-five year old virgin, aren't you?" Vanitas asked, eyebrow raised in a joking manner.

"No, I'm not," Steve denied as Rhodey and Natasha laughed.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Tony asked as he and Pepper walked over.

"We were just discussing how Steve's a ninety-five year old virgin," Vanitas informed him, smile on his face.

"No, I'm not!" Steve exclaimed, his face growing red at their laughter.

"Hey, it's okay," Pepper assured him. "We're all just joking. We know you're not really a virgin."

"Yeah, we're just joshing you," Natasha assured, patting him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, we're not blaming you for taking it slowly," Vanitas assured. "Everyone has those moments where they just want to wait." He couldn't resist getting in one more joke, though, so he added, "You just haven't met the right guy, yet."

Tony and Natasha laughed with him while Steve just looked up and smiled with a face that clearly said, "I'm surrounded by idiots."

"I'm not gay, either," Steve informed them.

"Really?" Vanitas asked, actually surprised a bit. "'Cause the way you were talking about you and your friend, Bucky, I kind of assumed..."

"You wouldn't be the first to make that mistake," Steve admitted, shaking his head with a smile on his face. "More than a few people got that impression because we would hang out so much."

"Sorry for the mistake," Vanitas told him.

"No problem," Steve said, before looking at him with a knowing smile on his face. "By the way, since we're on the subject, how's your love life coming along?"

"Well..." Vanitas looked up in thought. "Remember that girl, Yuffie, I told you guys about? Well, we kissed at Hollow Bastion before heading out to take out Xehanort, but we both agreed that it was too weird."

"Well, yeah," Rhodey agreed. "You watched her grow up, but you were still kind of a teenager, but now she's a little older than you. Naturally, it would be pretty weird."

"Yeah, we decided to stay friends," Vanitas admitted. "It's probably better that way."

"That's fair," Tony admitted. "Maybe you can try to find someone on this world."

"Yeah, find a girl who's as into Fall Out Boy, death metal, and horror movies as much as you do," Bruce commented as he, Thor, and Jane Foster walked over to join their conversation. "It shouldn't be too hard."

"Yeah," Vanitas commented. He gestured to Thor and Jane. "Also, heads up, the next time any of you guys pay a visit to their lab, knock on the door first. Otherwise you'll see things you don't wanna see."

Tony laughed at the blushes Jane and Thor developed at his words while Vanitas took a sip of the drink he had.

"Hey, should you be drinking that?" Pepper asked.

"Oh, it's fine," Vanitas assured. "I'm twenty-five. Plus, I can't even get drunk."

"Oh, really?" Thor asked with an eyebrow raised skeptically. "Then you throwing up and stumbling around Asgard not too long ago... what, that was you being completely healthy?"

The group laughed at Thor's words while Vanitas looked up in remembrance.

"Oh, yeah..." Vanitas said. "In my defense, though, that was _Asgardian_ alcohol. Who knows how much stronger that is for humans?"

"Fair point," Thor admitted as people kept laughing.

All in all, it ended up being a pretty good night for them all, and a pretty good way to wring in the year 2014.

* * *

Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, the year didn't go by well for long. After doing some standard missions with Roxas for a while, Vanitas randomly sensed a presence in Beast's Castle that didn't belong there. So, once the mission with Roxas was over, he re-adjusted his gear and used the Vortex Manipulator to teleport to the world.

Vanitas appeared on the bridge in a flash of light, and saw that Riku was standing a good amount in front of him, with his back to him. He definitely qualified as a presence that didn't belong here.

"What are you doing here, Riku?" Vanitas asked.

"I was hoping there was a way I could talk you out of this stand you seem to be taking," Riku informed him.

"What stand?" Vanitas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You're against taking out some of the Nobodies," Riku elaborated. "You've forgotten that they weren't supposed to exist in the first place, so cleansing them would just do the worlds a favor."

"They're only working for the Organization because they don't know anything else," Vanitas snapped. "They're my friends, and I'm not gonna let them get killed."

"There's no talking you out of this, is there?" Riku asked after a second of silence.

"They don't deserve that to happen to them," Vanitas insisted. "If you could pull your head out of your ass for two seconds, you'd realize that."

Riku was silent for another second.

"I guess you don't care as much about Sora as I do," Riku taunted.

"Oh, yeah," Vanitas taunted back. "You care so much about Sora, which is why you tried to kill him four times last year alone, while I stood by him even when no one else would. You're a loving person, I'm a heartless bastard."

Riku gritted his teeth at Vanitas' words.

"There has to be a way to wake up Sora, and keep the rest of them safe," Vanitas insisted. "I'm sure of it, I just have to find it."

Riku shook his head, disdain in his eyes.

"You keep living in that fantasy world, and I'll let you know how things go up here in the real world," Riku commented. "Once Sora's awake, we'll just finish off your Nobody friends ourselves."

"You're not gonna do that," Vanitas remarked, determination in his voice.

"Oh, yeah?" Riku asked. "And what are you gonna do about it?"

Vanitas answered by simply pulling his BO staff out of his sling again. Riku shrugged his shoulders and summoned his sword.

"Your call," Riku informed him, getting into his battle stance. "It's the wrong one, but it's yours."

"I was about to say the same thing," Vanitas remarked.

A moment of tense silence passed between them before Riku charged forwards with his sword in an attack. Vanitas used his staff to deflect the attack to the side, then twirled it around to hit the silver haired boy in the back of the head. He then jumped back to dodge as Riku slashed his sword at him. Riku then slashed his sword in a way that caused many slashes of energy around him before launching out many bursts of white fire.

The fire gathered together as it got close to Vanitas, so he slashed through it with his staff once it became one big ball that was about to literally blow up in his face. He then charged at Riku, who swung his sword near Vanitas' head. Vanitas ducked under the swing, then smacked Riku twice in the chest with his staff, hard. Riku was about to slash his sword at Vanitas again before Vanitas caught his hand with his staff. He pushed Riku's sword aside, then twirled the staff around and smacked the silver haired boy in the face with it.

Riku reeled from the attack, but pressed on. He slashed his sword at Vanitas multiple times, but he deflected them all with twirls from his staff. Vanitas then jumped up high and kicked Riku right in the face, making him reel back in pain once again. Riku brushed it aside, and Vanitas could tell he was staring at him with surprise behind the blindfold.

"Just 'cause I don't have a Keyblade or magic weapons doesn't mean I can't fight," Vanitas informed him.

He twirled around the BO staff before raising it over his head and swinging it down towards Riku. Riku raised his sword in defense, and blocked the attack. Riku pushed the staff aside with his sword and slashed his weapon multiple times at Vanitas, all of them missing. He then tried stabbing at Vanitas with his sword, which Vanitas quickly caught. Using a lot of skill that he had learned with the BO, Vanitas twirled the sword around in Riku's hand, and then sent it flying out, right off of the bridge.

Vanitas then went on the offensive and swung his staff multiple times at the silver haired boy, most of them missing due to Riku's dodging skills. He then decided to try and get smart. He jabbed the staff into Riku's stomach, making him breath out in a bit of pain. He then used an upwards attack to swing the staff into Riku's chin before twirling slightly to swing it into the side of his head.

However, Riku caught the staff and pulled it out of Vanitas' hands. Entirely because Vanitas was surprised that Riku had caught his weapon, of course. Riku then tried swinging the staff at Vanitas on his own, which did work. He hit Vanitas in the right side of his face hard, making him reel back slightly. The next time Riku swung the staff at Vanitas, he caught it and tossed it down the bridge in front of the double doors, so that neither of them could use it.

Vanitas then turned towards Riku, who already had his fists raised. Riku jabbed at him, which he dodged easily before punching Riku in the chest. Vanitas dodged as Riku tried cross punching him, then grabbed the silver haired boy's arm. He forced it back in a painful way, the kicked Riku in the stomach, knocking him back.

Riku quickly recovered and charged at Vanitas. Vanitas backed up slowly as Riku did jabs and cross punches in front of his face, blocking every attack. Vanitas caught Riku's last punch, then jumped up and kneed him in the chest. He repeated the knee two more times, causing Riku to lean forwards in pain. Vanitas then jumped up high and elbowed Riku right in the back, causing a lot of pain for Riku. With the silver haired boy leaned forwards, reeling in pain, Vanitas grabbed the cloak he was wearing in preparation. Vanitas then turned in a semi-circle, dragging Riku in the circle before throwing him across the bridge, near the exit gate.

Riku got on his hands and knees and tried to summon his sword, but Vanitas ran forwards and kicked him in the head to stop him.

"You think I don't know how to fuck you up?" Vanitas taunted.

Riku panted in and out.

"You gonna stop your conquest to try to kill my friends now?" Vanitas asked.

"After... this?" Riku panted. "I've just been... holding back... because if I give in... you might not appreciate me giving it my all."

"Then do it!" Vanitas countered. "If you plan on hurting my friends, then you're gonna have to give it your all to keep me from stopping you. Come on, bitch!"

Vanitas pointed his hand at Riku and fire blasted out, completely covering the silver haired boy for a few seconds. He stopped the fire for a few seconds to see Riku perfectly fine (as he expected), but breathing in and out a little quicker. Keeping up the attack, Vanitas shot fire out of his hand to cover Riku once again, once again keeping it there for a few seconds.

He finally stopped when dark energy appeared around Riku, signaling some kind of change. Vanitas let the fire dissipate and let Riku stand back up, but was shocked by what he saw.

Riku had removed his blindfold, but the dark energy that had surrounded him transformed him, so that he looked like Ansem. He was the appropriate height, with the exact appearance. Tanned skin, long, silver hair and everything.

"What the hell?" Vanitas asked.

Vanitas moved to punch Riku in the face, which Riku caught this time. He pulled Vanitas in, twisted his arm a bit, then palm smacked Vanitas in the face, which sent Vanitas reeling back a bit. Vanitas then jumped up to kick Riku again, but this time Riku caught his leg with both hands and threw Vanitas forwards into a backflip.

Vanitas landed on one knee and looked up at Riku. The form of Ansem stared back at him with anger on his face. Vanitas grabbed the aluminum bat from his sling and ran at Riku, his weapon raised in preparation. Riku dodged the swings that he did, but then blasted him directly with a big ball of Dark Firaga, causing him to go flying back on the bridge a bit more.

Vanitas then launched himself up off of his back and onto his feet. He held up both of his hands and had fire appear in both of his palms. He gathered them together and formed them into a beam of fire that he shot directly at Riku. He easily caught it with darkness in his hand, then fired more darkness out of his hand into his own beam. The beam of darkness quickly overtook the beam of fire and blasted Vanitas in the chest, burning his jacket as it knocked him on his back again.

He made a move to get up again, but Riku then teleported next to him, still having the appearance of Ansem. Riku kicked Vanitas in the face, then grabbed him by his even more ruined jacket. He grunted as he lifted Vanitas up and threw him against the wall separating the bridge from the castle courtyard. Vanitas slammed into the wall then fell back onto the ground, hard. When he got on his hands and knees to get up again, Riku lobed a ball of Dark Firaga right at Vanitas' face, causing an explosion that knocked him back once again.

"You know," Vanitas called out with a slight scratchy-ness to his voice. "I'm starting to get annoyed by being knocked on my ass a lot."

_Looking at you, author_ _,_ Vanitas thought.

Riku ignored him and simply pulled his blindfold out of his coat pocket. He covered his eyes with it and darkness swirled, transforming him back into his real image of a silver haired teenage boy. Vanitas propped himself up on his elbows as he looked up at Riku, betrayal on his face.

"How long have you been able to do that?" he asked.

"Longer than I'd care," Riku admitted, brushing hair out of his face. "I guess it's his way of staying with me no matter what I do."

"I thought you figured out how to balance it out," Vanitas remarked.

"I did," Riku admitted. "But there was still that self doubt. And from that self doubt grew more anger and rage. Just enough for a little part of him to come back. He appears when I give into the dark power in my hearts. I've been holding it back for months now, trying to keep him at bay."

"Where's Mickey?" Vanitas asked. "He could help you with that."

"He's on his own for now," Riku admitted. "Just like I was for a while... just like you are now."

Riku turned and started to walk away from Vanitas. Anger at the boy quickly grew in Vanitas' chest.

"If you walk away..." Vanitas called out. "Like this... If you leave here and now on these terms... We're not allies anymore. The next time we meet... we'll be enemies."

Riku paused for a second, and looked over his shoulder, no visible emotion on his face.

"I know," Riku blankly called out.

He turned away and continued walking, disappearing once Vanitas blinked. Anger in his chest, Vanitas rammed his fist into the bridge, exclaiming, "Fuck!" He stood up and removed his ruined jacket. The darkness from the blast had burned most of it, leaving it a tattered mess, barely recognizable to anything. The only positive(?) is that the jacket took most of the brunt, so all that was on the grey short sleeved shirt he was wearing was a couple of burn marks.

Vanitas took off the ruined jacket and stuffed it into his sling with his BO staff.

"How could this day possibly get any worse!?" he called out in anger.

The feeling of a new presence nearby in the world suddenly garnered Vanitas' thoughts. This presence was familiar, dark, and incredibly powerful. He quickly looked up in shock when he realized where he knew the presence from.

"Me and my big mouth," Vanitas muttered in sadness.

He turned his head to see someone in a black coat standing on the opposite side of the bridge from him. This person was, as usual, much taller than himself, but much more intimidating. Much more intimidating because he knew who the man was, even before he made out his familiar figure. The man reached up and removed his hood. A face with golden eyes and long, spiked silver hair that went past his shoulders was looking at him.

"Hello, Vanitas," Xemnas called out. "It has been a long time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN, DUN, DU-U-UN!!!
> 
> I'm starting to think this story will be my longest yet once it's done. It's only 15 chapters in, and it's already longer than half of one of the previous Kingdom Hearts entries. Seriously, divide the word counts of the previous multi-part Kingdom Hearts stories, and compare it to the word count for this story. And I'm pretty sure I'm not even halfway done yet! ...I think
> 
> Plus, Vanitas already broke the fourth wall a while back when he asked Nomura what the deal was in one of the previous stories. Is it really that surprising that he'd do it again? He's pretty much a less insane Deadpool


	16. Another Unpleasant Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas and Xemnas meet again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally doing some original things for this story. It's fun

Vanitas managed to keep down his initial shock of seeing Xemnas outside of a vision. Remembering that this man was still part of his former apprentice-mate, Xehanort, Vanitas stood up straight and prepared himself mentally. He could already feel the anger growing in his chest, similar to what he felt when he first faced Ansem back on Hollow Bastion. Knowing it probably wouldn't be beneficial to just run in half-assed with a machete like he did before, he mentally prepared himself for whatever was going to happen.

"I wish I could say it's nice to see you," Vanitas commented. "But I've been through a bit much to lie right now."

Xemnas chuckled at his words as they both walked a few feet forwards. The amount of distance between the two men on the bridge was now only ten feet, just enough for them to regard each other, slight frowns on each other's faces.

"How'd you find me?" Vanitas asked.

"You weren't that good at hiding," Xemnas informed him. "One of my reconnaissance operatives operatives noticed you at Olympus Coliseum, taking an interest in my Keyblade wielder's training on that world."

"Damn, Demyx, that lazy ass," Vanitas muttered.

"And then that same week," Xemnas continued. "One of my higher ranked members, Xaldin, saw you on this world. Coincidentally, around the same time my Keyblade wielder was on a mission. So, I have to ask... why are you interested in my Keyblade wielder?"

"He's Sora's Nobody, isn't he?" Vanitas asked as a form of explanation. "I wanna make sure he isn't being taken advantage of."

"I don't see how that concerns you," Xemnas remarked. He then looked at Vanitas with a sly smirk. "Maybe it's more than that. Maybe it's because he looks a lot like someone you knew. Someone I would be interested in seeing again..."

Vanitas stayed silent at his words, keeping his steeled glare during the entire conversation.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about," Xemnas remarked, smirk still on his face. "You know who he is, and you know where to find him, don't you?"

"What do you want with him?" Vanitas asked in a protective manner.

"Oh, I just want to have a nice reunion between old 'friends'," Xemnas told him cryptically. "You, me, the broken boy, and the fallen Master. Won't that be fun?"

Vanitas stayed quiet and glared at the man.

"I don't see that happening any time soon," he remarked. "Here's what I see happening: Sora's gonna wake up, we're gonna beat the shit out of you, he'll find a way to help fix me, and we're gonna get them back ourselves."

"'Fix' you?" Xemnas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a bit before it dawned on him. "Oh, yes, your lack of a life force. Your heart is dead, so you can't feel anything, but you're still alive. You're stuck between one heartbeat and the next, alive, but not alive. In the end, you have to ask yourself... what's the difference between you and one of us?"

Vanitas took in his words, keeping his expression the same, even though he was steaming on the inside. Being compared to a Nobody wasn't that bad when he thought about it. There were a lot of similarities at the moment, what with his current condition. But to have it spelled out to him by this living piece of crap... that was enough to try to push him off the ledge. He breathed in strongly through his nose, and breathed out through his mouth.

"Don't think you can piss me off and make me angry enough to go all gung-ho," Vanitas informed him. "I'm smarter than that now..."

He pulled his machete out of his sling.

"...but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna fight you," Vanitas finished.

Xemnas' smirk went from sly to cocky.

"Ever the rouge wildcard," Xemnas commented. "Willing to fight, but makes sure to hide when things go too rough. But if you want to fight... then we'll fight."

Red blades suddenly appeared out of both of his hands, and Vanitas' eyes widened in realization.

"Hollow Bastion," Vanitas remembered. "That was _you_ we fought."

"I've been keeping tabs on you and your little friends," Xemnas informed him before Xemnas started walking forwards.

"That's creepy," Vanitas commented, starting to walk forwards himself.

The two quickly went into action. Xemnas started swinging his Ethereal Blades at Vanitas, some of the swings he dodged, others he intercepted with his own machete. When Xemnas' swings with his blades started getting lower, Vanitas started doing cartwheels and backflips in an attempt to dodge. After one more backflip, Vanitas ended up on one knee, pulled out a Beretta handgun, and fired at the silver haired man's chest. As to be expected, none of the three shots had any affect.

He did another backflip as Xemnas threw up an electric barrier, exclaiming, "Guard!"

Xemnas then transformed into a large orb of dark energy that flew past Vanitas. The orb turned back into Xemnas, and he threw up another barrier, screaming "Guard" once again. This time, the barrier hit Vanitas, electrocuting him and knocking him forwards.

Vanitas quickly recovered and rolled onto his back before standing up. He charged at Xemnas, firing his Beretta as he got closer and closer. Once he got close enough, Xemnas swung his Ethereal Blades at his head, and he ducked. Sliding on his knees, Vanitas slashed his machete into Xemnas' side before standing up and smacking the man in the face with the butt of the hilt. Xemnas turned and swung one of his blades at Vanitas' head, but he ducked just in time. He then kicked Xemnas in the stomach, which didn't have as much of an effect as he would have hoped.

When Xemnas started his next set of many slashes with his Ethereal Blades, Vanitas leaped over him as high and far as he could. He continued to do cartwheels and backflips to escape the attacks, firing his Beretta along the way. Once the gun ran out, he slid it back into the holster before swinging his machete at the man again. That swing missed, but the next one made impact, causing some damage.

Xemnas then transformed into a big orb of dark energy that flew past him before transforming back into Xemnas far down the bridge. Vanitas started running towards Xemnas, but then Xemnas threw two orbs of electricity that turned into giant ones, similar to when they had fought in Hollow Bastion. Vanitas stuttered a bit as he ran through the electricity to reach his enemy, but he fought through it. He ran to Xemnas and swung his machete all around to try to hurt the man, but most of them missed due to his dodging. Once Vanitas got close enough, Xemnas then kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back a bit.

Vanitas looked up and saw that Xemnas had launched some more electric orbs out of his hand, and they were floating down to the ground. He swore as he rolled onto his front, then quickly ran down the bridge, right before the orbs grew to a large size and could electrocute him.

Vanitas sighed out as he noticed the Vortex Manipulator on his forearm. Getting an idea, Vanitas slammed his free hand on the co-ordinator buttons so that the next time he teleported, he'd end up on a random world. He looked up at Xemnas with determination in his eyes.

"There is no scenario where you win this fight," Xemnas informed him. "Even when you fought me with your friends, you barely managed to win. What hope do you have alone?"

"Probably not that good," Vanitas admitted. "But when has that ever stopped me?"

Xemnas' Ethereal Blades reappeared, and he raised them to prepare for an attack, but Vanitas ducked underneath them as he tackled the silver haired man. His arms around Xemnas, Vanitas slammed the teleport button with his machete, and the two disappeared from the world in the flash of light.

They reappeared in the air, and fell down onto a surface they couldn't recognize for a second. The two bumped around on the ground for a few seconds before they finally stopped rolling, the two separate from each other by about ten feet.

Getting up on his hands and knees, Vanitas looked up to see that he was on a familiar rainbow and grey bridge, with a familiar giant, golden city far in front of him, and a large, familiar observatory behind him. They had landed on Asgard.

Vanitas quickly stood up and looked over at his opponent on the other side of the bridge. Xemnas had stood up and was examining the city around him with intrigue.

"I haven't seen a world like this in many years," he remarked in awe. "What is this realm?"

"Your mother's asshole," Vanitas answered, running to his opponent, machete in hand.

Xemnas summoned his blades again and swung them in an X shape at Vanitas' machete. It wasn't easy, but Vanitas managed to actually defend against the strong, burning blades. With their weapons intertwined, Vanitas kicked Xemnas in the stomach hard, which pushed him back a bit. Vanitas raised his machete and slashed at his opponent a couple of times, doing quite a bit of damage.

Xemnas then floated around Vanitas, right over the bridge, depositing red bolts into the air as he floated in the arc around the ravenette. The red bolts then shot at Vanitas, which he managed to dodge with cartwheels. Once Xemnas ended with a large ring of bolts, they flew at Vanitas one at a time, which he tried to dodge with a backflip. Tried being the key word. Most missed. Some hit. Let's leave it at that.

Xemnas deposited another ring of bolts, these ones blue, which flew at Vanitas again. This time, he rolled forwards to dodge, being more successful at dodging. Vanitas slashed his machete at Xemnas, but he floated up into the air, up towards the observatory. During this, he deposited more rings of bolts along his way up, each one of them firing their bolts at Vanitas one at a time, most of them he successfully managed to dodge, but he still got hurt from some of them.

His opponent high above him, Vanitas ran forwards and threw a grappling line out of the utility pouch around his belt. The line attached to a part of the observatory wall, near the floating Xemnas. Xemnas had a moment of surprise before Vanitas activated the line, which brought the ravenette up near him. The silver haired man floated up higher near the top of the main part of the observatory, so Vanitas detached the line and ran up the wall after him.

Since Xemnas was adamant of staying away from him, Vanitas resorted to throwing fireballs after his enemy, a lot of them hitting and causing damage. They then reached what served as the observatory, near the part of the top that shot out the beam for the Bifrost. Now that they were close enough for close contact again, Xemnas re-summoned his Ethereal Blades and faced Vanitas.

Xemnas swung his blades at Vanitas, but Vanitas jumped over him to dodge. He grabbed the man as tightly as he could, and threw him against the beam nozzle, hard. Vanitas followed Xemnas and kicked him into the nozzle again, before grabbing him with his machete hand, and punching him repeatedly with his free hand. He hit the man one more time with the butt of his machete hilt, before Xemnas raised his own hand.

A dark corridor appeared behind Vanitas, and Xemnas kicked him through it, causing him to call out in surprise as he fell.

"You wanna be creative with this battle?" Xemnas muttered as he walked towards the corridor. "Fine. We'll make this battle creative."

Vanitas called out as he fell through the dark corridor and landed hard on the ground again. Getting on his hands and knees, Vanitas saw that he was on a higher part of the side of a castle, with a familiar town in the distance. Xemnas had brought him back to Hollow Bastion.

Xemnas walked through the corridor onto the top part of the wall. The corridor closed behind him as he re-summoned his Ethereal Blades.

"Back here?" Vanitas asked as he stood up straight and faced his opponent. "What, do you have a little longing for the past before you went all psycho-killer?"

"I always was," Xemnas remarked. "I just managed to hide it so well. And when I let that part of me out, I made you into one."

"That, you did," Vanitas admitted. "But you failed at pushing me over the ledge, and I managed to be saved. Now, I can get back at you."

Vanitas ran at Xemnas, and had to dodge as Xemnas threw up an electric barrier again. Vanitas kicked Xemnas in the side, causing the man to reel back a bit as his super strength flared. The Organization leader got knocked into a part of the wall so hard it cracked. Vanitas laughed as Xemnas stood up straight and looked at Vanitas with murder in his eyes.

Blue and white energy then surrounded the man as he flew up into the air. Multiple beams shot out of the energy and into whatever it could find as Xemnas floated towards Vanitas. Vanitas ran, cartwheeled, and backflipped out of the way of each of the beams, doing his best to dodge the attack. But when he got too close to Xemnas, and the energy surrounding him, the energy electrocuted him, knocking him back as he exclaimed in pain.

The energy dissipated, then Xemnas started another set of slashes with his Ethereal Blades towards Vanitas, which he dodged by rolling on the ground. Once the slashes stopped, Vanitas stood up and swung his machete at the Organization leader, missing. Xemnas then raised one Blade up into the air and tried bringing it down onto Vanitas' head, but he caught it in his bare, free hand. Once again, Vanitas was glad he couldn't feel anything, because he was pretty sure that these things were lightsabers from how bright and deadly they looked.

Vanitas pulled Xemnas forwards, even when Xemnas tried dissipating the Blade. Once Xemnas was close enough, Vanitas slashed him in the chest with his machete, then kicked the man in the stomach, pushing him back. Xemnas quickly recovered, then knocked Vanitas back with another electric barrier. When Vanitas was knocked back, he ended up being knocked over the ledge that they were currently on, and he fell onto a lower part, landing hard against the part of the castle.

Xemnas floated down next to Vanitas, and faced him with electric energy in his hands. Vanitas stood up straight and faced his old enemy. He raised his machete up, but then slid it back into his sling. Xemnas got the impression of what he meant, and clenched his fists while still keeping the energy around them.

The two men walked towards each other, and Vanitas swung both of his fists at the Organization leader's head one at a time. He ducked under both of them, but Vanitas followed them up with a roundhouse kick to Xemnas' side. Xemnas then punched Vanitas right in the face, which caused electric energy to burn his face. He fought through it and front kicked Xemnas hard, so hard he almost fell of the next ledge.

While Xemnas was pre-occupied with making sure he didn't fall of the ledge, Vanitas hit random buttons on his Vortex Manipulator again. Once Xemnas got his balance back, he rushed forwards and tried to punch Vanitas in the face again. Vanitas moved aside at the last second and caught the silver haired man's arm. He kneed Xemnas in the chest, causing him to lean forwards a bit. Vanitas wrapped his right arm around Xemnas' neck, putting him in a headlock. Keeping Xemnas in a headlock, Vanitas pressed the teleport button on his Vortex Manipulator, and they disappeared in a flash of light.

They reappeared in a familiar, large white entranceway and separated from each other. Behind them was a large set of yellow double doors with a blue outline, and in front of them was a set of stairs leading up to an indoor porch with regal double doors. They were in Castle Oblivion.

Vanitas raised his fists in preparation as Xemnas looked at him, a knowing smile on his face.

"He's somewhere in here, isn't he?" Xemnas asked. "The Chamber of Waking. It's somewhere in this castle. I don't suppose you could tell me where?"

"Even if I could, I'd tell you to piss off," Vanitas informed him.

A fireball appeared in his left hand. He threw it right at Xemnas, who raised his arms into an X in defense. The fire exploded on his arms, covering him a bit before it started to fade. During that time, Vanitas had started running towards the Organization leader with murder in his eyes and fire surrounding his fists. Once the fire faded, Vanitas followed it up by punching Xemnas right in the face, doing damage from both the punch and the fire.

Xemnas reeled a bit from the punch, but quickly recovered and retaliated with his own electric punch, which did some damage to Vanitas. Xemnas followed it up with three more punches before Vanitas raised his forearm which caught the man's arm. Vanitas followed that up by doing another roundhouse kick to Xemnas' side, then kicked him directly in the stomach again, knocking him back again.

Xemnas then looked at Vanitas with pure anger in his eyes. He disappeared and reappeared up in the air, in front of the double doors. Vanitas was about to run forwards before darkness suddenly filled the room around Vanitas. Through that darkness, many, many red bolts appeared around Vanitas. Vanitas' eyes widened in realization as he looked up at Xemnas.

Before he could do anything, Xemnas pointed his right hand at Vanitas and closed it into a fist. Bolts started firing out from their places in the darkness and right into Vanitas. He exclaimed as dozens of bolts fired into his body. He might not have been able to directly feel the pain, but his body still reacted to it as he was knocked around by the many bolts. After a lot of bolts flew into Vanitas, the energy and remaining bolts disappeared, and he fell to his knees, breathing in and out.

The attack left him seriously drained. The dozens of bolts firing into him left his body battered, bruised, and unable to do much. Vanitas could already tell that there was no way he could actually keep up the fight in his condition. If he didn't get a Potion into himself soon, he wouldn't be able to do anything in a fight. He had to get away. Luckily, when the bolts had appeared, he knew something had to be up, so he discreetly put the co-ordinates into his Vortex Manipulator. But he had to wait a bit.

Xemnas floated down to the floor with his Ethereal Blades drawn. He walked over to Vanitas and pointed one of them right at the ravenette.

"Given your stubborn nature, I'm sure you won't tell me the real reason you're interested in my Keyblade wielder," Xemnas assessed. "So do you have any other last words?"

"Yeah..." Vanitas breathed out. He panted in and out as he looked up into Xemnas' eyes. "Your name spelled wrong is Mansex."

Vanitas hit the teleport button on his Vortex Manipulator, disappearing in a flash of light and leaving Xemnas alone. Xemnas' eyes widened slightly in surprise before they lowered into a frown.

"Well, that's just not fair..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I already done the Nobody asking, "What's the difference between you and one of us?" question to Vanitas. I honestly can't remember. Also, has anyone else noticed that with the Final Mix secret boss, Xemnas is the only boss we fight in all three big Kingdom Hearts games; I, II, and III? 'Cause, that's kind of cool. And for the actual fight, I tried to find a balance of the first Xemnas fight in II, and the secret fight in I. Cause, even though he can kill you a lot in I, he spammed the same three attacks a lot before moving on to other stuff later into the fight. And he had even less that first time in II


	17. Damage Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas patches up after his fights, and the Organization searches for him

"Luckily, I managed to get out with my Vortex Manipulator," Vanitas finished explaining to Tony and Bruce. "'Cause that guy was not easy to fight, especially not by myself."

"Geez," Tony commented, sliding the waffles onto Vanitas' plate. "From the sounds of it, I would pay money just to watch that fight."

"Just from the way you describe it," Bruce added. "Sounds like the level of battle matches the the Battle of New York two years ago."

"Hey," Tony said, looking up in realization. "It _has_ been nearly two years since that day."

The other two cocked their eyebrows in surprised realization at that sentence.

After his fight with Xemnas, Vanitas used his device to teleport back to Earth 616, right into Avengers Tower. JARVIS might have been annoyed, but he shut up when Tony and Bruce saw how battered he was. Tony went to work and found his emergency stash of Potions and Ethers to give him an Elixer, healing all of his wounds. After mourning the loss of his SHIELD jacket, Vanitas downed a sleeping portion immediately, resolving to tell them what happened over breakfast. Which is exactly what he was doing.

"Both sides have made it clear they have a problem with me hanging out with Roxas and them," Vanitas remarked. "I definitely have to be a lot more careful to hide from the Organization members. And there has to be some way to hide them from DiZ and Riku."

"I think I have an idea," Tony said, taking a bite of one waffle. "Once we're done here, I'll show it to you."

They ate their breakfast, then Tony led them back to the lab. Tony sat at the computer and clacked more than a few keys to bring up various bits of information.

"Can I see your Vortex Manipulator?" Tony asked, holding out a hand expectantly.

Vanitas unwrapped the leather strap from his wrist and handed it to Tony. Tony took the device and plugged a couple of wires from the computer into the device.

"Nice Doctor Who reference with the name," Bruce commented as Tony clacked a few keys on the computer to link the two devices. "I'm curious, though, when we met in New York, you said that 11 would be regenerating at the end of 2013, and he and Clara wouldn't get together. But, then the opposite happened in the Christmas special at the end of the year."

"Oh, yeah," Vanitas remembered. "Well, I remember on my Earth, the actor who played 11 said that even though it was his decision to leave, he later regretted it. And that makes me sad to this day, so I went there and talked Matt Smith to stay for another year or two. And because I'm such a Whouffle shipper, I also talked him and Jenna-Louise Coleman into talking the writers into making it canon."

Bruce nodded his head, softly saying, "Oh..." Then his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Wait, when did you do that?" Bruce asked.

"Remember while we were rebuilding the Gummi ship after the battle and you guys gave me the day off?" Vanitas asked.

"Yeah," Bruce confirmed. He raised an eyebrow in realization. "Wait, you travelled to where they make the show and talked the actors into changing half the stuff about the characters because you had a day off?"

"It was either that, or try to use my telepathy to see Mila Kunis naked," Vanitas admitted. "And traveling didn't give me a headache that left me wanting to rip out my eyes."

Bruce nodded his head in understanding, having heard a good deal about how much it hurt when his friend tried to take control of his powers.

"Done!" Tony announced, getting their attentions.

They looked at the computer to see that the Vortex Manipulator was completely linked to it, showing lots of information from it.

"Looks like there's about 69.531% of battery percentage left on this thing," Tony announced, him and Vanitas not even trying to hide their smirks at "69". "Like you theorized, the farther a world you travel to, the more battery percentage gets used up." Vanitas nodded his head at that. "There's also... a travel log."

"What?" Vanitas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I never saw anything like that on the screen."

"That's 'cause the log isn't on the Manipulator," Tony informed him, frown on his face. "It's linked to a separate device. According to these readings, that device appears to be a separate computer console."

Vanitas was confused for a second before his eyes widened in realization.

"DiZ set up the log to keep track of me," he announced. "All these months I've been going to separate worlds, he's known where I've been the whole time."

Tony pressed a few keys.

"I can disconnect the log from the Manipulator," he informed Vanitas. "But with the worlds you've already been to, DiZ will have probably put a few things together."

"Especially since you've been to this world a lot more than the others," Bruce added. "They'll probably figure that this is where you've been staying."

"Damn it!" Vanitas exclaimed. "I was getting an idea to just grab Axel, Roxas, and Xion and just hide them here until this all blows over. But that won't work if DiZ and Riku know where they are."

The familiar pain of a vision started, and Vanitas grabbed his head in pain.

In the large, white round room with the many thrones of the Organization members, the remaining members, minus Xion, sat in thrones, looking up at Xemnas in the highest throne above them.

"My friends, we have a new threat against our operation," Xemnas informed them. "An old enemy the founding members and I had before we became Nobodies has discovered us, and is determined to stop us from completing Kingdom Hearts."

Roxas and Axel's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his words.

"His name is Vanitas Jordan," Xemnas informed them. "He is short, with spiked raven hair and a scar up the right side of his face. He used to have a Keyblade, and seems to be taking a great interest in our resident Keyblade wielder."

Everyone's attentions turned to Roxas, who put on a great confused face.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.

"When we did that mission on Olympus Coliseum," Demyx announced. "You were training under that weird, man goat thing, taking out Heartless by knocking barrels into them. And that raven haired, scarred faced guy was with him, encouraging you on."

"He showed an interest in me," Roxas admitted. "He was nice and encouraged me to go all out with training on that world."

"That's admirable," Xigbar remarked. "I did the same thing for you on that world. But knowing who he is, we can assume he has dire thoughts in mind."

"He was also there at Beast's castle while you were on a mission," Xaldin announced. "So, he clearly has means to travel to other worlds. He must have connections."

"Is it possible that we could gain his assistance?" Luxord asked, hand on his chin in thought. "Maybe talking to him, we could gain an asset in the game. Or, he could even be a wild card."

"There's a thought," Saïx admitted. "If he hadn't already proven himself unstable."

"Yesterday," Xemnas announced. "We spoke, and I asked if he could assist us on our quest. Instead, he attacked me, and we fought over the course of multiple worlds. I managed to defeat him, but he escaped with a device on his wrist. The only explanation for the device is that he is in contact with another of our enemies, and is in equal desire for our destruction."

"He must be tracked down and eliminated," Saïx announced. "We will have Dusk scouts sent out to various worlds: Twilight Town, Destiny Islands, Earth 616, Xandar, even Castle Oblivion. The scouts will leave once someone is on a mission, so you are all required to keep an eye out for our wayward soldier. If you catch him, do everything you can to try to apprehend him."

"I hope for meaning results soon," Xemnas announced. "This meeting is adjourned."

Roxas and Axel shared nervous looks as all the members used darkness to teleport away.

In the Gray Area common room, Roxas learned from Luxord that Xion collapsed after failing a mission, and was determined to go see her. On his way, Saïx stopped him, announcing that he had a mission. Roxas assured that he would do it later, but Saïx bad mouthed her a bit more, causing Roxas to start yelling at him again in defiance. He ran to Xion's room and left a seashell on her pillow in sympathy before leaving to do his mission.

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended.

"What'd you see?" Bruce asked.

"The Organization's sending out scouts to look for me," Vanitas announced. "And they've decided to have members try to 'apprehend' me. So, I guess I'm gonna have to try to be much more conspicuous while out on missions. So, I guess that's _two_ ways hiding Roxas, Axel, and Xion here until all this blows over won't work."

"I've got an idea," Tony assured him. "Not only can I disconnect the log from DiZ's computer, I think I can add a chameleon circuit to the Manipulator. If I get it right, with some skills from that book you gave us, I think it should be able to disguise you from the eyes of Dusks. That way, when they see you, they'll just shrug off your appearance."

"You think you can do that?" Vanitas asked.

"It'll take me a couple of hours, and a lot of tricks from that book," Tony admitted. "But I think I can."

"Thank you," Vanitas told him. "That would be a big help."

The two of them left Tony to his work, and went into the living room to do whatever to pass the time. They started with binging episodes of Arrow, and Vanitas swore that the guy who played Malcolm Merlyn looked like that brother he told them about.

"No, no, seriously," Vanitas insisted. "That guy, that actor, John Barrowman, he looks _exactly_ like Jack!"

"You also swear that your brother looks like Jack Harkness on Doctor Who!" Bruce countered, slight smile on his face. "V, I'm willing to believe that your brother is a bisexual nutbag... Don't make an inappropriate joke." He pointed at Vanitas as the boy grew a slight smirk on his face at Bruce's words. "But I think it's a stretch that he looks like a guy who looks like an actor with this wide a range of roles."

Vanitas sighed out, knowing he wasn't gonna win this.

They moved on from TV to trying their hands at baking. Vanitas proved that he was a bit good at making homemade burgers, which was a pleasant surprise for them both. Unfortunately, when both men wanted to indulge their sweet tooths, they learned that they were awful at baking homemade brownies. Luckily there was a store down the street that Vanitas had no problem running to. He did have to give a lot of autographs and take selfies with people along the way, though, due to the still running fame of being an Avenger.

They then moved on to another bout of playing Resident Evil 5. The two of them managed to reach the Wesker boss fight near the end, and it was at that moment Vanitas got another vision. Bruce, luckily, managed to pause the game before anything bad happened.

In his vision, he saw Roxas and Luxord on their mission together in Wonderland. They took out Heartless in the Bizarre Room, Queen's throne area, and the forest nearby, where they met the Cheshire Cat, who gave them cryptic information, which gave Roxas flashbacks galore to when Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas were there. Luxord was even frank and admitted that he didn't see Roxas outwitting the Cheshire Cat anytime soon.

"Well, excuse me," Roxas remarked.

Luxord smirked, before dropping the smile quickly.

"Roxas, be level with me for a second," he announced. "You and Axel know this Vanitas character, don't you?"

"What?" Roxas asked, trying to keep his shock hidden. "What makes you think that?"

"If the other members weren't too busy always jumping to the 'eliminate' conclusion, they would connect the dots," Luxord explained. "He was connected to you, and he encouraged you to go further with your training. Obviously, you two must be friends. And the look you and Axel shared before leaving the meeting, he must be friends with Axel, too. And since you two and Xion spend so much time together, he must be friends with her, as well."

Roxas' eyes widened at the way the man quickly put the pieces together. He opened his mouth to deny it, but Luxord raised a hand to stop him, understanding on his face.

"Do not worry," he assured the younger blonde. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Wh-what?" Roxas asked. "Why?"

"The people in charge of the Organization make him out to be a monster worse than the Heartless," Luxord explained. "But if he's willing to put up with you and Axel, especially Axel... and not try to dispose of you, then he must be all right."

"Uh... okay," Roxas said, deciding not to look this gift horse in the mouth.

"Besides," Luxord said, his arms crossed. "There is clearly something more sinister going on with the higher ranked members of the Organization. A secret coup, as it seems. If he can figure out what that coup is doing, then who am I to stop him?"

"That's... actually pretty fair," Roxas admitted.

"Good," Luxord remarked. "Now let us head back. And we will keep this conversation from Saïx, of course."

"Of course," Roxas agreed, nodding his head.

Vanitas gasped as he was taken out of his vision.

"What happened?" he asked Bruce, who was staring expectantly at him.

"Well, you were moving with that controller so blindly I almost shot you with the rocket launcher," Bruce informed him. "But I managed to get to pause before anything bad happened. What'd you see?"

"It looks like we've got another ally in Luxord," Vanitas informed him. "He's willing to keep quiet since he thinks I can figure out what the Organization's really up to."

"Do you think you can trust him?" Bruce asked.

"Probably not," Vanitas admitted. "If he spills the beans, then he'll probably be the first one I kill when things go tits up."

"Someone mention tits going up?" Tony asked, announcing his entrance into the room.

"Yeah, we're talking about the best way to have sex underwater," Vanitas joked, looking over his shoulder at Tony, who was walking towards them on the couch. "You finish it?"

Tony held out the Vortex Manipulator.

"I managed to disconnect you from the travel log pretty easily," he explained as Vanitas took the device. "The chameleon circuit was a whole 'nother problem. Finding the correct spell to mask you from Dusks specifically and not all Nobodies was a real problem."

"Why just Dusks?" Bruce asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why not go all out and hide-in-plain-sight-yourself from all of them?"

"'Cause Roxas, Axel, and Xion are still Nobodies," Vanitas reminded him. "I think that might cause some difficulties at the clock tower."

Bruce nodded his head in realization, silently going, "Ohhh..."

"Speaking of," Vanitas said, strapping the leather guard around his wrist. "I'm gonna be late."

He pressed the buttons on the device and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the two scientists alone.

"What do we do now?" Bruce asked Tony.

Tony climbed onto the couch from behind and took a seat. He took Vanitas' dropped controller and placed his fingers in the appropriate places.

"We finish showing Wesker who's boss," Tony announced as Bruce took his controller as well and unpaused the game. "Ah, nice to see you again, steroid fueled Chris Redfield. Try not to look too stupid when you punch a boulder this time."

* * *

Vanitas appeared on top of the clock tower standing in his usual spot, while Roxas and Axel were already sitting in theirs. Vanitas sat down, doing his usual thing of resting his right arm on his propped up knee.

"Axel, V, about Xion..." Roxas started, sadly.

"Saïx told me what happened this morning," Axel informed the blonde.

"And I saw it in my visions," Vanitas informed him. "Nice job telling off the boss. Would have been better if you included a 'fuck you,' but that's probably just me."

"Why does he hate her so much?" Roxas asked Axel, miserably.

"Listen to you," Axel commented. "How come you do that? Talk like a real person."

"Why?" Roxas asked. "What did I say? I don't know how real people talk."

"I mean, sometimes you sound like you really are heartsick or something," Axel elaborated.

"Makes me wonder how true that claim of you guys not having hearts is," Vanitas admitted.

"It's just..." Roxas said. "When I saw her lying there... I couldn't stop thinking that she'll never wake up."

"She will," Axel assured him.

"Saïx called her 'broken'," Roxas informed them, looking down sadly.

"He's a prick," Vanitas told him. "Just an asshole that doesn't know much other that treat people like garbage."

"Hmm..." Axel hummed in thought. He looked at Roxas, the back out at the city. "Well, if it cheers you up, I'm probably a lot more broken than her."

"So am I," Vanitas announced, adding to the joke.

"Saïx knows something about her," Roxas announced. "Why me and her are special Nobodies."

"Well, you're the only two with Keyblades, of course you're special," Vanitas tried cheering his friend up. He wasn't entirely sure that was enough, though.

"Well..." Axel said, rubbing his head in thought. "If it's gonna keep you up at night, I could ask him for you."

Roxas looked at Axel very, then stood up in his spot in excitement.

"Really!?" he asked.

"Yes, really!" Axel laughed. "Sheesh, sit down. I'll ask, but don't get your hopes up. Straight answers aren't exactly his specialty."

"Or anyone in your Organization, apparently," Vanitas commented. "Your boss was cryptic as fuck yesterday."

"Oh, yes, how could we forget that little tidbit?" Axel asked as he and Roxas looked at Vanitas. "You _actually_ fought Lord Xemnas!?"

"That, I did," Vanitas informed them, nodding his head.

"And you survived?" Roxas asked, incredulously.

"I did, my jacket didn't," Vanitas informed them. "It was a sad, but expected loss."

"Now you're just down to a shirt with the sling," Axel commented. "You look like you're geared up for something important."

"Oh, like I didn't look like that in the blue jumpsuit," Vanitas sarcastically remarked. "But that means I'm gonna have to be more careful watching my ass. I think it's safe to say I'm keeping a _very_ far distance when you're with other Organization members on a mission. And keep a good watch out for Dusks. Even though I have a man who put a camouflage system on this thing..." He held up his wrist to show his Vortex Manipulator. "...I will still need to be careful, just in case."

"We can help with that," Roxas assured him, nodding his head. He looked at Axel again. "But back to Saïx... Well, he's more likely to tell you anything about Xion than he is me."

"True," Axel admitted, scratching the back of his head.

The three of them then looked out at the sunset.

"I just hope she wakes up soon," Roxas admitted, hope in his voice.

"As long as you have that hope," Vanitas assured him. "Then I'm sure she will."

Roxas nodded his head in thanks as they continued to stare at the sunset.

* * *

Not too far on that same world, DiZ was sitting at his computer going through the latest developments of Sora's progress, and Vanitas' trips throughout the realms. The log on the Vortex Manipulator had him placed on a world he had never been to, before the signal suddenly stopped.

"What?" DiZ asked himself. He clacked a few keys to test the signal, but got the same result of nothing. "Oh..."

"What is it?" Riku asked, walking into the lab.

"It seems Vanitas is more clever than we originally thought," DiZ announced. "Or, at least, he knows some very clever people. The travel log on the teleportation device I provided him has suddenly been disabled from the device."

"So we won't be able to find where he is anymore?" Riku asked.

"No," DiZ informed him. "But, the travel log is still intact on my computer. And there are two worlds he visited more than most of the others. The second most visited is this realm, of Twilight Town."

"And what's the one he's visited the most?" Riku asked.

"A world neither you nor I have been to," DiZ informed him. "Earth 616. Specifically, a place called 'Avengers Tower'... Curious. Most curious..."

* * *

The next morning, Vanitas was woken by the usual cascade of visions that gave him an awful headache, and a stabbing feeling behind his eyes. In his vision, he saw that the previous night, when Axel tried talking to Saïx, the blue haired man replied that Xion doesn't belong among their number, and just looking at her confirmed that. He turned away and Axel in a state of confusion.

The next day, co-incidentally, this morning, Axel lied to Roxas, telling him that Saïx didn't say anything, but promised to take back calling her broken if she proved herself more capable going forward. Roxas continued to get his mission while Axel stood there, feeling like crap for lying to his friend.

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended and his vision came back.

"Well, we all gotta do that sometimes, Axel," Vanitas assured, before he realized, feeling a bit like an idiot: "There's nobody in this room with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luxord, I always felt was one of the more friendlier members of the Organization, even if he was an enemy. I mean, at the end of III, he and Sora promised to play another game once "they were just guys." I plan to use that later on


	18. Action, Reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas keeps busy with missions with Vanitas' help

Vanitas quickly geared up in a plain V neck short sleeved shirt and the remaining blue pants from his SHIELD outfit, along with his sling on his back, with some more visible pants around his belt. He used his Vortex Manipulator to quickly arrive in Halloween Town with Roxas. The two friends greeted each other and went through the town square and entered the graveyard, not finding a lot of Heartless along the way.

However, when they reached the graveyard, they found Jack at the end observing a large black lantern with Zero the ghost dog.

"That should do it!" Jack announced. "What do you think, Zero? I had the Doctor build it for me. On Halloween, I'll light these lanterns and make my grand entrance! They're in for quite a surprise." He raised his hands to gesture the severity, causing Zero to fly up slightly in agreement. "Oh! I'm almost late! I better hurry to the lab."

"Be a good boy, Zero," Jack assured his dog, who flew up slightly again in affirmation.

Jack turned and walked away, and Roxas and Vanitas moved on. They went through the various secret pathways of the graveyard to reach the curly hill, during which they lit some of the lanterns Jack had set up around the areas. They walked forwards near the bottom of the hill when-

"Stop!" Lock's voice called out from behind them.

Vanitas pulled out his Colt M1911 handgun as he and Roxas turned around.

"Wha-? Who's there!?" Roxas asked. Unfortunately, this time Vanitas was too slow with shooting the pumpkin, which exploded right in their faces again. "Waugh!"

The three kids were standing in front of the entranceway the two of them had walked through. They were laughing hysterically at Roxas and Vanitas once again.

"Ah!" Roxas exclaimed. "It's you kids again!"

The three kids ran past the two of them quickly and stood above the boys on the hill.

"You can't go past here!" Lock announced defiantly.

"Road block!" Shock added.

"Catch!" Barrel announced.

He threw a pumpkin bomb at Roxas and Vanitas, which they dodged by moving aside. Irritated, Roxas summoned his Keyblade and stood in his battle stance while Vanitas replaced his gun with the less lethal aluminum bat.

"Rrgh..." Roxas exclaimed in annoyance. "Stop getting in our way!"

"Yeah, you little shits!" Vanitas exclaimed, pointing his bat at them.

Roxas started by using Magnera to pick up the three of them, the following it up with a combo attack and finisher that attacked all three of them. Just as Magnera ended and threw the three through the air, Vanitas swung his bat into barrel, knocking him aside like he was a baseball.

"You think that's a home run?" Vanitas asked Roxas, who shrugged his shoulders.

Roxas blocked attacks from the three kids before continuing combo attacks on Shock and Lock while Barrel lunges at Vanitas. But since they were short enough, Vanitas kicked the kid aside and smacked him with his baseball bat once more, knocking him out. Roxas knocked out Shock with one more combo, and Lock with an aerial combo. The three kids ended up gathered in front of the door they came through, Roxas and Vanitas in front of them still holding their weapons. Roxas dismissed his Keyblade and they stood up straight.

"Okay, okay!" Lock assured. "We give up!"

"Take it easy!" Shock complained.

"Tell us why you're blocking the way," Roxas ordered.

"Now," Vanitas added, sternly, as he pointed his bat at them.

"If we didn't, you'd go back there and see the..." Barrel started to say before he saw his two friends glaring at him from behind their masks. "...Er, nothing."

"The what?" Roxas asked, getting back Lock and Shock's attentions. "What's back there?"

"N-nothing!" Lock nervously announced.

"Yeah, a whole lot of it!" Shock added.

"You kids are awful liars," Vanitas informed them.

"We promise we won't pull any more pranks!" Barrel suddenly announced. "Please let us go, pleeease!"

"Pranks?" Roxas asked in confusion. "Getting in my way was a prank? Why even bother?"

"Some people think the misery of others can be fun," Vanitas informed him.

"Exactly!" Lock agreed.

"Fun?" Roxas asked, looking from his friend to the kids. "I don't really see how it's-"

"Well, it is!" Shock insisted.

"Pranks are the best!" Barrel agreed.

The three quickly stood up.

"See for yourselves!" Lock announced.

He threw another pumpkin at them, which exploded in their faces.

"Waugh!" Roxas exclaimed while Vanitas yelled, "Damn it!"

"Now's our chance!" Barrel announced.

"Run awaaay!" Shock announced.

The three of them ran to a nearby wall and threw a bomb at it, blowing up a hole large enough for them to fit through, which they escaped through.

"Be glad we aren't on my home world," Vanitas informed Roxas.

"Why?" Roxas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Because on my home world," Vanitas explained. "They don't take too kindly to people our age beating up little kids like that."

They continued their mission with Zero giving them directions to Heartless as they gave him bones as rewards. Once they were done, they went to their respective bases pretty quietly. That night, Vanitas saw in his visions that while Xion slept, she was having dreams of moments from Kairi's life. What the heck does _that_ mean?

* * *

The next day, Roxas had a mission on another world Vanitas had been to before, Neverland. Roxas stepped through the dark corridor onto the grassy field and looked around in observation, right before Vanitas appeared in the usual flash of light.

"So, this is Neverland..." Roxas assessed, still looking around.

"Yep," Vanitas said, looking around at the tall hills in front of them, along with the pirate ship far in the distance on the water. "It's certainly something."

"What was that Heartless I'm looking for called again?" Roxas asked himself. "A Wavecrest? It's gotta be around here somewhere."

"There doesn't appear to be a lot of space around here," Vanitas assessed. "That's unusual."

The two walked forwards a bit, coming near the trees and plants, when they were stopped by a voice nearby.

"Faster, Smee!" a scratchy, slightly regal sounding voice yelled. "Put your back into it!"

The two of them looked around the big plant next to them to see Captain Hook standing next to a large pile of dirt, with Mr. Smee standing in a hole in the ground, adding to the pile of dirt with a shovel.

"Hook and Smee," Vanitas said in silent realization, and a small bit of happiness. "Nice to see these two sons of bitches again."

"You know them?" Roxas asked.

"They threw me in a brig, tried blowing me up with a cannon, and then tried feeding my friend to a crocodile," Vanitas informed him.

"Fun," Roxas sarcastically commented as they watched the two men.

"Aye, aye, Captain Hook!" Smee announced as he kept digging in the hole.

"There's no mistaking it this time!" Hook announced, holding a weathered treasure map in his one hand. "The treasure's most certainly here!"

"Meaning the treasure's most likely ten miles in any other direction," Vanitas whispered to Roxas, causing him to start laughing.

"That would be a nice change from the last dozen places, eh, Captain?" Smee asked. "And with the luck you had finding all those treasure maps at once, we'll be rich in no time!"

"Heh heh heh..." Hook laughed. "Some poor fool must be cursing himself now for losing 'em."

"I don't get it, what are treasure maps?" Roxas asked as Hook ordered Smee to stop talking and keep digging behind them.

"In some places," Vanitas started explaining. "People bury treasure in specific places and leave maps to find them for later on. Sometimes, other people find them and try to use them to steal the treasure from right under their noses. Like these two wiseacres are trying to do."

Roxas nodded his head in understanding as they watched Smee get deeper in his hole. The man stopped digging and looked up at the Captain with excitement in his eyes.

"Captain!" Smee announced. "Captain, I've struck something!"

"Oh!?" Hook asked, looking into the hole to see a small wooden box at the bottom. "Ha ha! Show me what manner of treasure we've found!" Smee opened the box, and the two men were dismayed to find the box empty. "Blast! Another dead end!"

"Now, now, don't you worry, Captain!" Smee assured him. "We still have a whole pile of other maps to follow."

"Confound it..." Hook complained. "If we don't find the right one soon, someone else could walk off with me treasure." Darkness surrounded the Captain and entered the chest. "That gold is mine! Nobody else can have it! Nobody!"

"C-Captain, sir?" Smee nervously asked.

Due to the darkness in the box, three Heartless appeared next to the hole the two men had dug.

"Gah!" Hook exclaimed. "More Heartless!? Run, Smee!"

"Yikes!" Smee cried out. "Aye, aye, sir!"

The two ran down the grassy plain towards their ship in the distance, leaving the Heartless alone. Roxas and Vanitas sighed out in relief slightly.

"Good," Roxas announced. "Now's our chance to take out those Heartless."

Vanitas took out his old 12 gauge shotgun with the long barrel, and the two of them quickly went to work, taking out the Heartless no problem. With the Heartless gone, the two of them walked over to the hole in the ground and observed the darkness covered box in the ground.

"Junk and more junk," Roxas commented. "So why'd those Heartless pop up like that? Was this 'treasure' some kind of trap? Or did something else cause them to show up?"

"Well, Hook used to be part of a group that tried controlling Heartless," Vanitas explained. "There's a chance that they might not have been that willing to let him go."

"Something about him did seem a little... off," Roxas admitted. The two of them looked down the grassy field the pirates had ran down and saw their ship out in the distance. "Is that their ship?"

"That's it," Vanitas nodded his head in confirmation.

The two of them started walking down the field and came to the edge of the cliff that put them in viewing distance of the ship. Looking out at it, they were surprised when a familiar glowing light suddenly ended up directly in their faces.

"Whoa!" Roxas exclaimed in surprise as Tinker Bell stopped, surprised at their sudden appearances.

"Hey, Tink," Vanitas waved to try to calm her down.

Tinker Bell flew away from them for a second, her hand on her chin in thought. Roxas had a flashback to Sora meeting her in his head, before Tinker Bell came to a conclusion. She started flying around the two boys in greeting, confusing Roxas.

"Um... can I help you?" Roxas asked, confused.

Tinker Bell then floated up to their faces and gestured to the ship, knowing they couldn't understand her directly.

"You... want us to go to that ship?" Roxas translated, causing her to nod her head. "But how? It's too far. V has his sneakers, but I can't just sprout wings and fly there."

"Oh, dude, you have no idea," Vanitas laughed with his arms crossed, as Tinker Bell put her hand to her chin in thought.

A second later, she flew around the two, sprinkling her dust around them. This gave Vanitas flashbacks, both to when he and Ventus had gotten pixie dust, and when he had gotten pixie dust with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Roxas looked down at the dust surrounding them before looking up at Tinker Bell in confusion.

"Hey, what is this stuff?" Roxas asked. "It's glowing..."

Tinker Bell gestured to the ship on the water once again, then gestured to the cliff they were standing on. Roxas looked down in shocked understanding.

"Y-you want me to jump!?" Roxas asked. After a second, he realized something. "Wait... Are you... Are you saying I can fly?"

Tinker Bell nodded her head, and when he looked at Vanitas for confirmation, Roxas was surprised. Vanitas was already floating in the air, pixie dust around him as he kept his arms crossed and a smug smirk on his face.

"Well..." Roxas said, trying to keep his calm. "All right... I believe you."

Roxas closed his eyes and jumped off the cliff, giving both boys flashbacks to Sora doing this exact same thing as he flew up into the air just before hitting the water below him. Roxas flew up into the sky, soon followed and joined by Vanitas.

"I-I did it!" Roxas exclaimed in excitement. "I can fly!"

"Hell, yeah, man!" Vanitas exclaimed in equal excitement.

Tinker Bell flew up to Roxas so that they could communicate, and Roxas' tone became inquisitive once more.

"But..." he started. "Was it just that stuff you sprinkled on me?"

Instead of answering, Tinker Bell gestured to the ship once again before flying towards it quickly, leaving both boy's eyesights.

"Um... good-bye," Roxas said, slight unease in his voice. "So, now what? Should we go to the ship?"

"Your call," Vanitas informed him. "I try not to associate with pirates too much, modern or classical. And since I'm just here to help you, I'll follow your leadership."

Roxas looked down in thought before he made his decision.

"No, I'm here to take out that Heartless," he decided. "I feel bad for not helping her, but I can't risk being spotted. The mission comes first."

"Work before pleasure," Vanitas remarked. "Kind of hellish."

The two of them went around the immediate area, to the spots that Hook and Smee had left holes in the ground. Heartless popped up from the various places. These consisted of a bluish remade version of the Air Soldier, along with water wielding elemental pots. Due to the many spots in the ground, and them popping up at random, the two of them had to take out dozens of both the types of Heartless before they finally found the one they were looking for.

The Wavecrest was a blue version of the dragon like Heartless they had faced before. They went to work, Roxas with his Keyblade and Vanitas with his sledgehammer and Glock handgun. After flying around in an arc around the flying Heartless, Roxas attacked with an aerial combo, and Vanitas smacked it a bit with his giant hammer and gun. They repeated this action, doing quite a bit of damage to the Heartless.

When the dragon tried doing a spin charge attack, Roxas dodged and countered with two combo attacks while Vanitas helped with his fire encased sledgehammer. Since this dragon wasn't as prone to attack as the Avalanche, they managed to just keep up blocking attacks before countering with their relentless attacks until the Wavecreast was destroyed. With the Heartless defeated, they floated back to the ground and walked towards the dark corridor that Roxas took to get here, but stopped.

"Hmm..." Roxas said in though, looking over his shoulder at the ship. "She went to that ship all by herself. I hope she's okay. Maybe we should have gone with her..."

"Don't worry," Vanitas assured his friend. "Tink is tough. Sure, she get's captured quite a bit, but she always finds a way out. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Well... if you're sure," Roxas said, looking down in thought. "Still doesn't make me feel good for leaving her after she helped us, though. I mean, without her, we never would have found the target. I get why she picked you, but... I wonder why she picked me."

He floated up into the air a bit.

"It's like..." Roxas said in thought. "It's like she knew I would believe you guys- that I could fly." He tilted his head. "Funny... I almost feel like I've done it before."

"Maybe it's something you did back when you were a Somebody," Vanitas suggested, slight smile on his face.

He was sure part of the reason Tinker Bell had picked Roxas was because she recognized Ventus, and just thought they were the same person. But Roxas just took the suggestion Vanitas offered and walked through the dark corridor.

Almost as per usual, Roxas and Vanitas had arrived at the clock tower before Axel, already digging into their ice cream bars.

"All done with work?" Axel greeted.

"Yup," Roxas assured.

"Easy peezy," Vanitas remarked.

They continued eating their ice cream as Axel walked past them and sat in his usual spot.

"Axel, you're not gonna believe this," Roxas announced, excitedly. "We flew today."

"Flew?" Axel asked.

"Yeah, like a bird!" Roxas confirmed. "Well, sort of. It's hard to explain... V?"

"A fairy covered in glowing dust sprinkled her dust onto us," Vanitas explained. "And when we believed we could fly, we flew in the sky as easily as her."

"Ah..." Axel said in slight understanding, but hidden disbelief.

"I've been waiting all day to tell you and Xion!" Roxas admitted, slightly forgetting about her being asleep.

"Right..." Axel said with trepidation.

"Flying felt so natural..." Roxas admitted. "Like I'd done it before. Vanitas suggested it's something I remember from being a Somebody. Still, weird, huh?"

Roxas took another bite out of his ice cream before looking down sadly again.

"I wish Xion would wake up so I could tell her all about it," he admitted.

"She will," Vanitas assured his friend. "I promise."

Roxas nodded his head and the three of them looked out at the sky, hope in their eyes for their asleep friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first mission, they didn't show a lot in the Timeline episode, pretty much just the scenes with Jack and the three little brats.


	19. Xion Awakens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xion wakes up, and the quartet go on a mission together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more before the next big project...

Sometime after those missions ended, Vanitas woke up one morning seeing that Xion had a dream about when Sora lost his heart, subsequently finally waking up Kairi. She saw Sora's body encased in light, and Vanitas, Goofy, and Donald watching in shock. Kairi stood up and ran to try to catch Sora, who vanished in her arms. Kairi called out Sora's name, and Xion suddenly woke up, surprising Roxas, who was leaving another seashell on her pillow.

After sharing a nice moment with the shells, Roxas informed her that they had been worried about her. And after a little bit of insistence, Xion talked Roxas into letting her join him on the mission he had that day. They went into the Grey Area, quickly finding Saïx, who had nothing but disdain for the girl he saw as hooded.

Saïx tried rudely talking Xion back into bed, but Axel jumped in and offered watch out for XIon on the mission since he was already tagging along, to make sure Xion would be okay. Saïx relented, and the three smiled at their luck.

Vanitas gathered his gear and used his Vortex Manipulator to appear in the Back Alley in Twilight Town as the dark corridor appeared. The trio of friends walked out and greeted Vanitas happily.

"Good to see you up and at 'em, Xi," Vanitas greeted.

"Good to _be_ up and at 'em," Xion admitted, nodding her head. She looked over all three of the guys. "This should be fun, huh? Quadrupling up like this."

"Yeah, I think this is my first four-man mission," Roxas admitted.

"'Four-man'?" Vanitas asked, joking. "I count three men and one woman."

"Right, sorry," Roxas said, slight smile at Vanitas' joking manner.

"Just remember that it's still a mission," Axel announced. "We're not on a field trip, guys."

"Since when are you the responsible one?" Vanitas joked.

"Yeah, yeah," Xion relented. "It sure is nice to be back on my feet."

"Just don't push it, you hear me?" Axel asked her. "We'll pick up the slack."

"I hear you," Xion announced, nodding her head. "Thanks."

They had two giant Heartless to take out, and they gave themselves a warm up by taking out the ones in the alleyway. With the four of them working together, they took out the Commanders and large living bombs with ease, none of them even taking damage. They then moved on to the Sandlot, where they came across the Heat Saber.

Xion immediately rushed in with a combo attack while Axel threw his chakrams at the boss while encased in fire. Vanitas wasn't that surprised that the chakrams didn't have much impact, since attacking a fire based enemy with fire was clearly not a good idea. He shrugged it off and pulled out his M4 assault rifle. He fired the rifle at the Heartless while Roxas deflected an attack before countering with his own combo attack.

After dodging a few spin attacks from the Heartless, Roxas followed it up with his own combo attacks, followed by Xion, using the same eerily similar combos. Axel threw his chakrams while Vanitas fired his rifle in rapid mode. Roxas then used a special lunging attack, which Xion then followed up in, both of them together doing a bit of damage to the Heartless. After blocking a stabbing attack from the Heartless, Roxas attempted to use a counter attack, but the Heartless did another spin attack to force him back a bit.

After the Heat Saber did some more attacks knocking the four around, Xion got the idea to jump out of range and start using Blizzara to attack. How it took one of them this long to get the idea to use ice, Vanitas would never know. The Heartless then got her back into range and knocked her back once again before all four of them got together and started attacking it together. Xion was even smart and cast Cura while the others were close enough, so it worked on all four of them.

Vanitas' rifle had run empty a little while prior, so he was now using it as a club. Once the novelty of that wore off, he replaced his rifle with a Desert Eagle handgun, which he used to blast powerful shots into the Heartless. The four of them kept up their attacks, until Roxas and Xion used the special lunging attack a few more times to destroy the Heat Saber completely.

With the Heat Saber defeated, the four friends went around the town, looking for the other giant Heartless. They went all around the Tram Common, and even Market Street, taking out every Heartless they could find. They took out lots of Commanders and Neoshadows, and even some more of the living bombs, but not the heartless they were looking for. So, they moved on to the train station, right in front of the clock tower they spent so much time at.

They walked a few feet from the entrance of the area before Xion suddenly gasped and collapsed to the ground. Roxas turned immediately and stared in shock.

"Xion!" he called out to no avail.

Axel got on his knees and gathered Xion in his arms. Resting her in Axel's lap, the three looked down at her in concern as Vanitas had a slight vision into her head. She was seeing some more moments between Sora and Kairi. Once again, she saw what happened to Sora on Hollow Bastion, but she also saw Kairi giving Sora her lucky charm and telling him to be sure to bring it back to her.

Vanitas was pulled out of his vision, and the three looked up at the sight of the giant Heartless appearing in front of them. The Destroyer brought its little hands together and had a laser shoot out onto the ground. The laser shot up towards the friends, and they scattered out of the way. Roxas summoned his Keyblade and Vanitas pulled out his Desert Eagle again before they ran forwards to face the Heartless.

"Leave Xion to me!" Axel announced.

"Got it!" Roxas remarked.

The Destroyer kept spamming the same move for a while: releasing a ring of bolts that then fired at the two. For a good, long while, Roxas deflected the bolts before retaliating with his own attacks, even keeping up deflecting them back as he was in the air for an aerial combo. Vanitas provided cover fire with his powerful handgun before the Destroyer shot out another large laser, knocking Vanitas back. The Destroyer's lasers then damaged Roxas down to need to use his Limit Break, so Vanitas and Axel traded places.

Axel joined Roxas in his own Team attack. The two of them took turns charging at the Destroyer, Axel attacking with fire, and Roxas with light surrounding him. The two of them did these attacks for a little while before Axel landed on the ground and expelled lots of fire from himself, and into the Destroyer, which Roxas helped by slashing the boss with his Keyblade. The two landed on the ground together, Axel uttering, "Get it memorized," in a badass way, while the Destroyer took the damage from the attacks a little late. The Destroyer was eventually, well... destroyed, and the two ran over to join Xion and Vanitas.

Vanitas picked up Xion in his arms and passed her to Axel.

"Get her back to your castle," he instructed the two.

"You got it," Axel nodded his head in agreement before opening a dark corridor.

"Keep track of us in there!" Roxas called, gesturing to his head before following Axel through the corridor.

Vanitas nodded his head as the corridor disappeared, then used his Vortex Manipulator to appear back in his room in Avengers Tower.

Already prepared for visions, Vanitas gripped his head. First, he saw them passing Saïx in the hallway up, where Roxas told off the man for calling Xion an "it" again. They walked past Saïx, and once they were gone, the man uttered, "What happened to you at Castle Oblivion? Does the past mean nothing to you?"

The vision shifted to show Roxas and Axel looking worriedly at Xion sleeping in her bed.

"Are you worried about her, Axel?" Roxas asked, as if he wasn't probably even more worried because of how obviously he felt about her.

"Of course I am," Axel informed him. "And V is, too."

"It just doesn't seem like you," Roxas admitted.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.

"I mean, you don't like things to be complicated," Roxas remarked as Axel crossed his arms.

"You know, Roxas..." Axel finally said after a few seconds. "Each day, the three of us meet up there with V for ice cream. Now, why do you think that is?"

"Huh?" Roxas asked, confused.

"I mean, if you think about it," Axel elaborated. "Both V and I don't need to go out of our ways to meet you guys, right?"

"I don't know," Roxas admitted, placing his hand over his heart.

"You want me to tell you why?" Axel asked, leaning forwards slightly, knowing smile on his face. "It's because you guys are my best friends."

"We are?" Roxas asked.

"Get it memorized, alright?" Axel asked, poking his head to emphasize his point. "We are best friends."

"Oh, yeah..." Roxas said, looking down, then back up at Axel. "I guess we are."

Xion chuckled slightly, garnering the two's attentions. They gasped in surprise as they watched her open her eyes.

"Thanks, Axel," Xion told them. "You're sweet."

This caused the redhead to put his hand on the back of his head, embarrassed, and look everywhere but at his friends. Roxas laughed at him before looking at Xion.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked her.

"I just got a little dizzy, that's all," Xion assured them. "Sorry to worry you guys."

"Don't scare us like that anymore," Axel told her. Xion hummed in assurance. "Just take it easy today."

"I will," Xion promised as the two turned and started to walk to the door. "Thanks. Both of you."

She rested her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes.

Vanitas' vision shifted to show Naminé in a _very_ white room, drawing a picture of the four friends: Vanitas, Roxas, Xion, and Axel, which Vanitas didn't understand.

* * *

"So she's all right now?" Tony asked.

"Aside from passing out before finishing that mission, she seemed fine," Vanitas admitted.

Vanitas had returned from his mission when it was still pretty bright out in the day. It was around two in the afternoon, so he just waited until Tony and Bruce were done with their experiments for the day to fill them in over a dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread. It was starting to get pretty dark out, and they had finished a little while ago, so it felt like an appropriate time.

"The thing is, though, she's starting to see some of Sora's memories," Vanitas told them. "Specifically, his memories of his time with Kairi. That has to be just a coincidence, right?"

"Maybe," Bruce admitted. "But maybe not. You said before, that when Roxas first met Xion, she only wore the hood, and never spoke, right?"

"Yep," Vanitas admitted, nodding his head.

"Well, maybe there's some reason why after a while she started looking like Kairi and started using a Keyblade," Bruce theorized.

"You think there's a connection to Xion seeing these memories and these other parts of her," Vanitas assessed, and Bruce nodded in agreement. Vanitas sighed out. "Well, nothing can ever be simple and clean, so why not?"

Before anyone could say anything else, Vanitas gripped his head in pain. He saw a vision of the latest development with Roxas, and was honestly a little surprised. The vision ended and he gasped as he looked at Tony and Bruce, who were in turn looking at him in curiosity.

"What'd you see?" Tony asked.

"That time really does work weirdly in different worlds," Vanitas informed them, standing up. "It's already the next day for Roxas, and he's already on another mission to take out a dark presence on a different world that they admitted they're probably never gonna send him back to."

"Which world is it?" Tony asked.

This was where Vanitas was especially surprised.

"Earth 616," he answered, causing the two men's eyes to widen in surprise. "They sent him right here."

Vanitas quickly gathered his gear and moved into the room next to Tony and Bruce.

"Where's he gonna end up?" Bruce asked.

"On a ship somewhere in the Indian Ocean," Vanitas explained.

"I got a message from Cap and the Widow earlier today," Tony remarked. "They have their own mission with their S.T.R.I.K.E. team out there tonight."

"And Roxas has never been here or met them before," Vanitas said in realization. He groaned out in the problems that hadn't even arisen yet. "Oh, he's gonna misunderstand a lot of what's going on."

He pressed the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator and disappeared in a flash of light, already irritated at whatever was about to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, up next is The Winter Soldier! Like Vanitas in Kingdom Hearts, I'll be taking a break from this story while I work on that one. And I can actually add a few extra things to the story this time rather than just include the characters which will have very little impact. I mean, they won't have the biggest impacts, but they're gonna do something


	20. Back To Standard Missions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas and Vanitas continue their missions, with help of a surprising ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to the Days storyline. And Luxord joining in to help, to literally everyone's amazement

The next day, Roxas had a mission in Wonderland with Luxord as his partner. A dark corridor appeared at the bottom of the rabbit hole, and out walked the two blondes. A flash of light then appeared nearby, signaling Vanitas's arrival. He was still in the black robes with brown straps that he had worn during their mission on Earth 616, but had his bandana hanging around his neck to be polite to his allies.

"Vanitas Jordan," Luxord greeted, raising a hand to the ravenette. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Vanitas greeted back, reciprocating into a handshake. "Not gonna lie, I was very surprised to learn that you were okay with this."

"Well, if you can figure out the true plans of the Organization, then who am I to interfere?" Luxord asked. "Besides, whatever happens to the leaders of the Organization, as a result of your actions, doesn't really matter to me."

"So, you basically don't care?" Roxas asked. Luxord nodded his head. "I guess that makes sense."

"So you don't interfere in my investigation, and in return, I don't try to kill you," Vanitas elaborated.

"Precisely," Luxord agreed.

"Sounds like when I had to partner up with my cousins for a school project when I was a kid," Vanitas admitted. "But it worked then, so I guess it'll work now."

"I'm late! I'm late!" the White Rabbit yelled, garnering the trio's attention as he ran past them and down the hallway. "I simply must get back. Oh dear! My report is due post-haste! Even if she's curious, she's sure to be most furious! For I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

"It's that rabbit," Roxas announced after the rabbit rounded the corner out of sight.

"The one you mentioned the last time we were here?" Luxord asked.

"Yeah," Roxas informed him. "I get why he's tensed. V was here before, mentioned that there's a Queen who tends to behead people at the slightest inconvenience. But how is he still so tensed after all this time?"

"Remember, time works differently among worlds," Vanitas reminded him. "Our little excursion 'yesterday,' proved that point pretty well. There's a chance this is still the same day from when we were here last time."

"So she's still making him really tense?" Roxas asked. "This is making me really curious."

"Well, curiosity is essential to carving your own path through life," Luxord informed him. "Get too curious, though, and it'll be a short walk."

"Very true," Vanitas agreed, nodding his head in agreement. He then shot Roxas a confused look, not entirely getting the man's words.

"No one can say whether following that rabbit's footsteps will be your lucky charm...or get you killed," Luxord continued.

"Isn't that a little dramatic?" Roxas asked. "Following him won't change anything. We're still here to hunt Heartless."

"Heh heh," Luxord chuckled. "Well, if you're that certain..." He looked down at his shorter companions. "Let's go follow our harried little hare, see where he takes us."

"Sounds like a plan," Vanitas remarked, pulling a Mossberg 500 shotgun with a pistol grip and no stock out of his sling. He slid a shell inside from his ammo pouch and pumped the shotgun.

"You're okay with it, then," Roxas asked Luxord.

"Following him won't change anything," Luxord agreed. "You said so yourself."

"We just gotta make sure not to piss off the head bitch," Vanitas informed his allies. "Otherwise she might decide we need to be beheaded because she doesn't know us."

"Noted," Roxas remarked.

They went through the Bizarre room with the medicine bottles and went through the maze entrance like hallway to find themselves in the Queen of Heart's court. The Queen was sitting in her mantle, with card soldiers all standing at the ready, facing her. The three of them stayed hidden behind a maze, creeping slightly around the corner to watch what was going on. The White Rabbit ran up to her and breathed in and out.

"R-reporting in, Your Majesty!" the White Rabbit announced. "So far, our search has failed to turn up any trio, including that which startled you. The only place left to look is in the royal Rose Garden."

"Nrrgh..." the Queen of Hearts growled in anger. "Then go! I want those suspicious scoundrels brought here to me. Sentences must be served!"

The Card Soldiers turned and walked away.

"Looks like there's been trouble here," Luxord assessed.

"It seems like there always is on this world," Vanitas remarked.

"Bad time to drop in," Roxas commented. "Who's this suspicious trio they're after? Are we not the only outsiders here?"

"Ahh..." Luxord breathed out. "Perhaps we were right to chase your busy friend."

"Why's that?" Roxas asked.

"We just got a lead," Vanitas informed him. "Weren't you listening? The only place to look is the royal Rose Garden."

"Time to get to work, Roxas," Luxord announced. "Let's uncover this tricky tierce. Like Vanitas said, the Heartless we're after must be in the one place they haven't looked yet."

The mission went pretty smoothly from there. They went through the entrance to the garden and navigated the maze like area, hiding from card soldiers along the way. Making their way through the garden, they eventually took out the three Commander Heartless, pretty easily.

"Let's head back, Roxas," Luxord instructed after they finished the last Commander.

"Yeah..." Roxas said, before something occurred to him. "But wait. If we just took out the trio those card soldiers are searching for, what will they-"

"You STILL haven't found them!?" the Queen of Hearts screamed, interrupting Roxas and giving him another flashback to Sora. "Someone's head will roll for this!"

"All the searching in the world won't help them now," Luxord remarked.

"So, it was the Heartless, then," Roxas assessed.

"It usually is around here," Vanitas admitted.

"I think our luck beat theirs today," Luxord told them. "In the end, your curiosity paved us a shortcut.

"The key to carving a path through life, huh?" Roxas thought aloud.

"And all the way to the grave," Luxord informed him.

"Cheery thought..." Roxas remarked.

Luxord summoned a dark corridor and looked down at his allies again.

"Now, for one last shortcut," he informed Roxas.

"Yeah, let's get out of here before they find us and decide _we're_ the suspicious trio," Vanitas agreed.

Roxas and Luxord walked through the corridor, and Vanitas teleported away with his Vortex Manipulator. Roxas and Vanitas then met up and made their way to the clock tower, where they found Xion already there with ice cream.

"You're here early," Roxas announced in greeting.

The two of them walked down the line and stood in place in front of their usual spots.

"My mission wasn't that hard," Xion admitted.

The two boys sat down, Roxas doing his usual of dangling his legs over the edge and Vanitas doing his usual of resting his back against the wall.

"Luxord is in the know about Vanitas," Roxas informed her. "He's okay with keeping quiet. When we asked about it, he admitted that he just doesn't really care."

"Really?" Xion asked, eyes widening in surprise.

"Yeah, we were surprised, too," Vanitas admitted.

The surprise eventually faded as they kept eating their ice cream and staring at the sunset.

"So, how ya feeling?" Roxas asked Xion.

"I think I'll be okay now," Xion informed him.

"That's good," Roxas smiled.

"Gotta stay prepared for anything," Vanitas commented.

They looked out at the sunset again and continued munching on their ice cream bars.

"Hey, where's Axel?" Roxas asked Xion, curious.

"I haven't seen him," Xion admitted.

The three looked up the tower up to the clock at the highest level. The clock confirmed that it was actually getting pretty late in the day, yet Axel still wasn't there.

"It's getting late," Xion informed them. "I don't think he's coming."

"You wanna wait a little longer?" Roxas asked, considerate for his friend.

"Okay," Xion agreed, nodding her head.

"You guys do that," Vanitas informed them, standing up. "I gotta get moving. There are prior arrangements I have to fulfill."

Roxas and Xion nodded their heads before waving him goodbye. There were two reasons why he was leaving early. One, he was sick of just having these two brushing their feelings round, so he figured giving them some alone time would help them realize exactly the fullest extent of how much they really cared about each other. The second part was that he wasn't entirely lying. He did have prior arrangements he had to fulfill...

* * *

Vanitas stood in the throne room of Asgard, consulting with Odin on the throne and soldiers nearby, acting in defense of the kind. Wanting to explore all of his options regarding his friends, Vanitas figured maybe he could try hiding them away in the Golden City. After all, if Riku or the Organization came looking for them, they'd have to face off against literal gods. Xemnas was powerful, but was he _that_ powerful? Maybe, but they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

"...so I was hoping if you'd allow me to hide them somewhere in the city," Vanitas finished explaining to what he thought was Odin. "You know, until I can figure out a more long term solution."

"Vanitas Jordan," Odin announced. "You are a remarkable warrior who did Asgard a great service in the past. But we will not help you in this situation."

"What?" Vanitas asked. "Why not?"

"Asgard is still recovering after the battle with the Dark Elves," Odin admitted. "And if what you say is most accurate, then we will have the counterpart of Ansem, his Nobody, to face off against, along with his army of lesser Nobodies. Not all Asgardians are trained for battle, and not everyone in our army has the weaponry to battle these forces. We have no choice but to decline your plea for help."

"Fine," Vanitas muttered, already getting an idea in his head.

"And don't you think about bringing your friends here and storing them in a secret place, anyway," Odin snapped. "Security is at its highest, and we would find them and send them to who the hell knows before you could say 'oops'. Leave the chamber."

"Fine," Vanitas exclaimed, annoyed. He turned away from the throne and started walking down the hallway. "Dick."

The soldiers followed Vanitas out to make sure he didn't try anything, leaving Odin alone in the throne room. He sighed out.

"I am done meddling in the affairs of light of darkness," Loki's voice muttered to himself through the image of Odin. "Ansem and Maleficent were one thing, but Ansem's counterpart is too much. He's gonna have to find a solution to combat these Nobodies on his own..."

* * *

"What a dick!" Tony remarked at breakfast the next morning.

Vanitas had arrived late the previous night and was explaining everything to Tony and Bruce, as per usual, over breakfast. While the two of them were surprised after he filled them in about the Winter Soldier and Project Insight fiasco, they managed to get over it quickly and move on to their usual routine, even if things were now slightly different now due to SHIELD being gone. And Vanitas now having the cloth outfit he had gotten on Olympus. They had to admit, it was definitely interesting and unique, and a good way to tide over until the leather garb was complete.

"How could he just leave you hanging like this?" Bruce asked. "You helped save his world. He should owe you, like... an entire army, or millions of dollars just for that. And yet he can't do you this favor?"

"It seems the ruler of Asgard has become a wimp," Vanitas commented, taking a sip of his orange juice.

"That, or this might be payback for all those times you messed with him," Tony commented. "Either way, dick move."

"That limits my options now," Vanitas admitted. "I can't exactly fight against them and hope to win. Riku managed to beat me down easily by giving into the dark power he's holding back. And that ended up losing me my SHIELD jacket. And even if I could beat him, I don't know any way I could go up against the entire Organization and win, even with you guys. That laser bolt trick that Mansex had alone nearly took me out."

"And with DiZ probably having this world locked down as a place you visit, and Asgard out of the window, you don't have a lot of options to hide them," Bruce pointed out. "The Organization, are they one of those groups where it's like... 'No matter where you go, we will find you'?"

"Probably," Vanitas admitted. "They pooled together their resources to find me back at Beast's Castle, then sent Dusks all around to try to find me. On that, did you manage to find any with the satellites?"

"No, they've been pretty bare," Tony admitted. "No sight of those weird looking pricks anywhere."

"And the Heartless have disappeared since hydra-Pierce was destroyed," Bruce added. "Although, what gave him the idea to just now incorporate all of that as part of a plan to make an army of Heartless, I don't know."

Tony and Vanitas both nodded their heads slightly in confused agreement, before Tony's eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Wait a second," Tony announced. "What about that guy, Pete?"

Vanitas looked at Tony, then his eyebrows furrowed in the same thought.

"He's, what I understand from the media on this world, a Disney villain," Vanitas said. "And he has visited plenty of worlds where he doesn't belong. He could fit the criteria for one of Maleficent's lackeys."

"He might not know that she isn't exactly in charge anymore," Bruce added. "Maybe he thinks she's just biding her time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike."

"Though, I gotta admit, I don't see her logic in recruiting a guy that dumb," Vanitas said. He cocked an eyebrow in thought. "Then again, I hang out with Donald and Goofy. No offense to them, but they're not the brightest bulbs in the box."

"Nor is the kid," Tony added.

"No, he is not," Vanitas agreed. "I don't know why he and I look so alike, but _boy_ do I hope we're not somehow related."

Vanitas then gripped his head as he got the usual vision. Roxas and Axel had a mission together, on Neverland today, and Roxas tried showng the whole, "I can fly" thing to Axel, but the pixie dust wore off a while ago, so it had no effect now. They also both witnessed the deal with Hook and Smee looking for treasure and finding Heartless in the boxes when Hook went near them.

Vanitas groaned out in annoyance as the vision ended. He grabbed his sling on the spare table, which he had grown to start doing a couple of months ago, and attached it to his back.

"They have no timetable," Vanitas complained to Tony and Bruce. "Don't they understand people like eating breakfast?"

Bruce offered him a look of condolence while Tony smirked slightly before Vanitas disappeared in the usual flash of light of the Vortex Manipulator. Vanitas appeared on a giant rock on the water next to Roxas and Axel, watching Hook and Smee running away from Heartless they dug up.

"What's their story?" Axel asked Roxas.

"They used to be out for dominating all worlds with a crazy she-bitch," Vanitas informed them, announcing his arrival. He looked at Roxas. "Remember Maleficent? That captain in red was one of her lackeys with Pierce. I guess after we beat them, they decided to just go back to being standard, run-of-the-mill pirates."

"They did mention something about treasure maps last time," Roxas added.

"So, what, they're digging for buried gold?" Axel asked. "Yeah, that sounds like usual pirates. But from the looks of it, all they're digging up is trouble."

"Yeah, Heartless spring up wherever they dig," Roxas informed him. He looked past Axel to Vanitas. "You said they might not be willing to let the captain go after they failed in trying to control them."

"Might just be a vengeance thing," Vanitas admitted. "Not sure Heartless are smart enough to plan out complete tactical battle strategies."

"Wait, from the sounds of it, that dude in red has a target on his back, so the Heartless show up where he goes?" Axel asked.

"Specifically where they dig up the boxes," Vanitas pointed out. "Maybe it's seeds in the boxes that need darkness to bring about Heartless. And Hook provides the darkness."

The two looked at him with one eyebrow raised at his words.

"Best explanation I could come up with," Vanitas admitted.

"It kind of makes sense, though," Axel admitted. "So let's start by checking the places they dug up. "Who knows, maybe we'll find our targets down there taking a nap."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed, nodding his head. "Stranger things have happened."

"Yeah, we fought a dude who turned into a hydra," Vanitas agreed.

"I will forever hate myself for not going with you guys that day," Axel announced as they started walking forwards.

The trio jumped down the side of the giant rock they were on and walked up to where the hole in the ground was, where the box covered in dark energy was with a bottle. Oh, and Tinker Bell floated in the air, investigating it herself. She turned at the sound of footsteps, and looked up to see Roxas, Vanitas, and Axel staring at her.

"Oh!" Roxas exclaimed, surprised and embarrassed. "Um... hello... again."

"What up, Tink?" Vanitas asked.

The pixie flew up to face level with the two boys and exclaimed angrily, in her language that neither of them understood.

"Wh-what?" Roxas asked. "Are you mad at us? ...Oh, because we didn't follow you to the ship before..."

"Hey, guys..." Axel said as Tinker Bell nodded her head at Roxas. "Who have we got here?"

Tinker Bell looked up at Axel, then flew behind Roxas's head to hide from the redhead.

"This is Tinker Bell," Vanitas introduced the pixie. "She's a fairy, and all her words sound like just bells to us."

"We met the last time we were here," Roxas informed Axel. "I don't think she means any harm."

"Yeah, she wanted us to go to the ship for something," Vanitas added. He looked at the fairy. "Why didn't you just get Peter to help you? He's still around here, isn't he?"

Tink gestured around while talking in her usual language that sounded like bells to them. It was then that Vanitas looked up in annoyance.

"I can speak Elvish, Xhosa, even Horse," he announced. "But not fairy bells. How the hell does that make sense?"

"Besides that problem," Roxas told Vanitas before looking up at Axel. "She's the one who helped us fly."

"Yeah, i already saw your demonstration," Axel informed the blonde.

"It's true!" Roxas insisted. He looked at Tink next to his head. "Here, help me show him. Could you give us some more of that glowing stuff?"

"Pixie dust," Vanitas corrected his friend.

Tinker Bell put a hand to her chin in consideration before she relented. She flew around the three of them again, dropping the dust onto the boys. Almost immediately, Roxas floated up into the air with the dust around him, causing Axel to jump in shock.

"Wha-!?" he exclaimed.

"See?" Roxas asked. "I told you!"

"I don't even need the shoes," Vanitas remarked, floating up into the air as well.

"How are you doing that?" Axel asked.

"She sprinkles the dust on us, and you're supposed to think of a happy thought," Vanitas informed them. "But I guess it's been downgraded to just thinking, 'I can fly', 'cause I'm not sure he was thinking a happy thought when he jumped off the cliff."

"'I can fly,' huh?" Axel asked.

"Look, just give it a try," Roxas suggested.

"All right..." Axel said with uncertainty in his voice.

Axel stood up straighter with his eyes closed, no doubt concentrating, to no avail. He then stood normally and looked at the two again.

"I'm not feeling it, Roxas," he admitted.

"C'mon, try again," Roxas insisted. "Believe me on this, Axel!"

"Okay... I believe you," Axel admitted. He closed his eyes once again, and after a few seconds, he started floating. In the air, the redhead looked down with confusion on his face that quickly became surprise. "I can fly... I can fly!?"

"You can fly," Roxas assured him.

"We can fly!" Vanitas exclaimed, floating up in the air, similar to how someone would on pool water, complete with his hands on the back of his head in a relaxing manner.

Tink then flew up again and gestured greatly to the pirate ship once again, trying to get the three to understand her.

"I think she still wants us to go check out that ship," Roxas tried translating. Tink nodded her head.

"Doesn't it belong to those guys from before?" Axel asked her.

"Yep," Vanitas informed them as Tink nodded her head.

"What, are they your friends?" Axel asked in confusion. Tink once again exclaimed in a frustrated manner.

"Apparently not," Roxas assessed. "Then why is it so important we-"

He was cut off by the sound of an explosion. They scattered as they watched a cannonball fly through the air towards them.

"Yeeeagh!?" Roxas exclaimed in confusion. "What was that?"

"Jackasses must be trying to flush out the Heartless," Vanitas remarked, floating down so he was level with his friends. "Third time they've fired their cannons at me, I'm starting to get the idea they're trying to send a message."

Tinker Bell then gestured to the ship again before quickly flying towards the ship in the distance.

"H-hey... wait up!" Roxas called out.

Roxas started flying after the fairy, but stopped when Axel called after him.

"Roxas!" the redhead yelled. "Are you nuts? Get back here."

"But she..." Roxas started to say, looking over his shoulder at Axel.

"Dude, relax," Vanitas told him. "Tink is resourceful."

"She escapes capture a lot?" Axel asked.

"No, she _gets_ captured but escapes a lot," Vanitas informed him.

"Well, uh..." Axel said, confused before he shook it off. "We don't know what she's after. The mission comes first. Let's find those Artful Flyers."

"Anyone else notice a lot of these common Heartless have stupid names?" Vanitas asked.

"Oh, all right," Roxas reluctantly relented.

"Keep your eyes open," Axel informed him. "V and I don't wanna have to scrape you off a cannonball."

They continued with their mission, flying around the giant area to where the giant rocks, finding holes in them where Hook and Smee had dug up treasure, examining the boxes and having Heartless teleport in in response. With some difficulty in their searching, they managed to find the three Artful Flyers, and took all three of them out with little difficulty. Sure, dodging the cannonballs wasn't easy, but they managed to succeed at that... mostly. The point is, they took out the Heartless, then made their way back to the dark corridor.

"Mission accomplished," Axel announced. "And what a strange mission it was." Cannonballs continued flying around them, with a lot of them just landing in the water. "Heh, you have to at least give them points for trying."

"Sounds about usual for them," Vanitas remarked.

"I wonder if she's okay..." Roxas said in thought, looking out at the boat.

"Hmm?" Axel asked, looking at Roxas. "Oh, your tiny friend?"

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "Maybe we should have gone with her."

Vanitas mentally agreed with his friend. Sure, Tink got captured a lot, but Peter was usually there to help her escape. And he hadn't seen Peter once any of the recent times they had been on this world. Where was he?

These thoughts ran through his head as Axel looked around in worry at the cannonballs still hitting the water around them.

"I don't think we had much choice," he informed the two. "We're not getting anywhere near that ship today."

Roxas looked down and didn't say a word.

"Cheer up," Axel told him. "She looked pretty determined. She'll be fine."

"Yeah..." Roxas relented. "I guess so."

The three of them used their ways of leaving the world and made their way to the clock tower, sitting in their usual spots as they at their ice cream.

"You think that sparkly dust would work in other worlds?" Roxas asked Axel.

"Sometimes it does," Vanitas informed them, remembering that trek through the World of Darkness with his friends. "But I don't know how."

"Wow, you three sure flew through your mission, Xion announced, signaling her arrival.

The boys looked up to see her walking through the entranceway and stopped in front of her usual spot.

"Heh, if you only knew," Roxas smirked.

"Xion..." Axel said, avoiding eye contact, which confused Vanitas.

"Sorry I'm late," Xion told them. "I had my hands full today."

"Eh, it happens to the best of us," Vanitas assured her as she sat in her spot.

Roxas waited until she had her own ice cream bar and was staring at the sunset with them before he excitedly announced, "So I was about to tell you, today me, V, and Axel actually flew!"

"You flew?" Xion asked with surprise in her voice.

"Yeah," Roxas confirmed. "There's this sparkly dust that makes it possible."

"Pixie dust," Vanitas corrected his friend.

"I was wondering why you three looked so happy," Xion softly said, looking back out at the sunset. "Lucky..."

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked, worry in his voice. "Did something happen again?"

"Nah, it's nothing..." Xion assured him, shaking her head.

"Slight envy at being able to fly," Vanitas whispered to his blonde friend.

Roxas made a slight "Oh..." in understanding before they continued watching the sunset while eating their ice cream, in surprisingly comfortable silence.

* * *

They kept up their missions over the next few weeks, taking out Heartless and whatnot. However, it seemed like things were going into overdrive with the whole thing of time working differently between worlds. After Vanitas finished a mission with Roxas, or watched a mission from afar, he took a sleeping potion, slept for a few hours, then immediately woke up from the next vision alerting him of the next mission. It was starting to get exhausting, even for him with no life force.

All the while, though, Vanitas kept looking for ways to try to help his friends against the dark forces in their lives. There didn't seem to be any place to hide them, and directly going up against either the Organization or Riku half assed, like he had been forced to do ever since Sora went to sleep, didn't seem like viable options. These thoughts had to be pushed to the back of his head as he eventually had a vision involving DiZ and Naminé.

Naminé was in the white chamber, looking up at the pod Sora was sleeping in. DiZ walked in and walked up to the blonde in the white dress.

"You seem to be struggling," DiZ remarked.

"A Nobody is interfering, I think," Naminé informed him, sadly, as he stopped next to the blonde.

"A Nobody?" DiZ asked.

"I keep trying to piece his memory back together..." Naminé explained. "...but what if some of the pieces got lost? There would no way for me to finish. If that happened, and if they found their way into someone else, he'd never get them back."

"Oh, I think he could do without a memory or two," DiZ remarked.

"But what..." Naminé looked up at the wrapped man in worry. "...what if he needs those memories in order to wake up?" She looked down. "What if they're the key?"

"Naminé..." DiZ remarked. "You are a witch who has power over Sora's memories and those connected to him. Are you seeing something I cannot?"

Naminé looked down, then back up at the pod in thought and worry.

"If his memories become her memories..." she started. "...she will never survive it."

"She?" DiZ asked, confused.

The vision then shifted to show Xion in her room in the Castle that Never Was, curled into a ball while looking down.

Vanitas gasped awake then and there. Some of Sora's memories were missing? Where could they have gone? What did they mean by "she?" And what did the vision show him Xion for? If she was what they meant by "she"... did she have something to do with the memories being gone? And if she was, what did they mean when they said she wouldn't survive it?

Vanitas pondered over this stuff as he stayed behind from Roxas's mission today. It was to take out an unidentified giant Heartless at Olympus Coliseum with Demyx. While he did want to go, primarily to shoot Demyx right in his stupid hair and then in the face for ratting him out to the Organization, something told him to stay back.

That something was revealed after seeing through visions of Roxas fighting through the games to find the giant Heartless. The final round had him fighting against Xigbar. So, it was a good thing that Vanitas didn't tag along to even watch. He didn't like his chances against that guy, even if he was just mounted up on a high position with a sniper rifle.

Roxas fighting against Xigbar was interrupted by the giant Heartless, the old, familiar Guard Armor, appeared. Roxas faced off against it while having flashbacks to Sora doing the same thing in Traverse Town with himself, Donald, and Goofy. Once it was destroyed, the three Organization members left, leaving Phil and Hercules to run in to find no Heartless or Roxas, and it was then that the god told the satyr that Roxas wasn't the hero in training that he had sent there. Phil's reaction of "Who have I been training!?" did not fail to make Vanitas laugh.

After coming out of the vision and seeing it had only been two hours, Vanitas sighed out and used his Vortex Manipulator to appear with Roxas on his way up to the clock tower. They walked through the entranceway and saw Xion there already eating her ice cream bar.

"Hey, Xion," Roxas greeted. "Get here early?"

"Yeah," Xion informed them as they walked past her to their usual spots. "I breezed right through my mission."

The two sat in their usual spots and pulled out their own bars of ice cream.

"So how'd your day go?" Xion asked the blonde.

"Ugh, you'll never believe what Xigbar did..." Roxas informed her.

"He was a pretty big dick today," Vanitas remarked.

"Hey, hey," Axel greeted, announcing his arrival. "Oh, Xion, what are you doing here?"

They looked up at him, and Xion took offense.

"What, do you want me to leave?" she asked. "Sheesh."

"It's a free country, dude," Vanitas added to her defense. "Well... free world; you guys know what I mean."

"C'mon, that's not what I meant," Axel informed them.

He walked past them to his spot and sat down, producing his own ice cream bar.

"Hey, Axel?" Xion asked after a few seconds.

"Hm?" Axel asked.

"You've been to Castle Oblivion, right?" Xion asked.

"Yeah," Axel answered.

Xion paused for a second before asking, "What is it like?"

"What's it like?" Axel asked. "Just an Organization research facility."

"Very white," Vanitas commented.

"For research, huh?" Roxas asked, in thought. "Seems everyone gets sent there all the time. Especially you."

"It's not as special as it seems," Vanitas informed them. "Kind of boring."

"Although..." Xion said in thought. "They never send me or Roxas."

"Well..." Axel said. "They probably just don't need you there."

Xion kept quiet as she kept looking down.

"I'm..." she announced. "I'm heading back."

They watched her with confusion as she stood up. She then suddenly grabbed her head in pain, and lost her footing. She started to stumble forwards, off the edge of the tower. Roxas lunged forwards and reached out for her. He caught her hand in the air, preventing her from falling even more. Vanitas grabbed Roxas's shoulders to help, and the two of them pulled Xion back onto the ledge. The four of them stood on the walkway, with the boys staring at Xion in worry.

"Maybe you're not completely well yet," Roxas assessed.

"No, it's nothing like that," Xion assured them.

"Memory flash?" Vanitas asked. "Happens to me all the time, they suck."

Axel then scratched his head while looking up and around in thought. He then dramatically put a foot onto the ledge, and looked down.

"Got it!" Axel announced, to their surprise.

"Huh?" Roxas asked. "Got what?"

"On our next day off, let's all go to the beach, huh?" Axel suggested.

"The beach?" Xion asked. "Where did that idea come from?"

"We should go someplace different for a change," Axel explained.

"You're talking about a vacation with friends," Roxas realized, smile on his face, pointing up in realization.

"Exactly," Axel agreed, similarly pointing up.

"I'll join you," Xion softly said, looking down in thought. "If I can."

"What are you talking about, Xion?" Roxas asked.

"It'll be a blast," Axel assured. "Trust me."

"As long as these guys don't get jealous when I go shirtless," Vanitas remarked, smile on his face. "No life force might mean my body stays the same, but I still have the muscles that I had before."

This caused the entire group to start chuckling even more.

"Yes, all right," Xion assured them. "Let's go."

Vanitas managed to keep the smile on his face until he got back to Earth 616 and collapsed on his bed with the sleeping potion. His visions showed Roxas and Axel writing in their own diaries, Roxas showing concern for Xion, and Axel saying that while she's a Replica, a puppet, they were still friends. That kind of explained his odd behavior lately, but it didn't mean everything was all right.

It, in turn, just confused Vanitas even more. Xion was a Replica? Just like the Riku they met that they had met in Castle Oblivion? But that didn't make any sense. She used a Kingdom Key Keyblade, just like Sora and Roxas. Who was she a Replica of, and why did that mean she used the same Keyblade as Sora and Roxas?

And why did he feel like he wouldn't like the answers?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, at the end of The Dark World, it was revealed Odin was really Loki in disguise. And after failing Thanos AND Maleficent, of course he'd want to hide away and leave that stuff alone. Hiding Roxas, Axel, and Xion to Asgard would bring him a lot of unwanted attention
> 
> And I think we are well over halfway at this point. The mission where Roxas fights the Guard Armor at Olympus Coliseum is Day 224, and they kind of brushed through days pretty easily. Plus, after that, there's only six 30+ minute episodes of the Timeline left for the Days portion, then two extra ones for Roxas at the beginning of II, which I'm just gonna breeze over, honestly. So, yeah, I think we're well over halfway done, even with the extra fights against Riku and Xemnas I added


	21. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the next surge of missions, a member of the group disappears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit easier to find starting and stopping points for chapters in the other parts of the Timeline. I can start a chapter on a new world and end it on the world. Similar things happen in the movies. I'm just given stopping points with some of the transition scenes where it just jumps to them in a new location

They kept up their usual tirade of missions throughout the next few weeks. It started out with Vanitas helping Roxas to take out a specific Heartless in Halloween Town, during which they had the usual ambush by the three brats and witnessed Jack present a new idea to Dr. Finklestein, which ended up being an ice based explosive pumpkin. The duo quickly took out the Heartless, but then they were ambushed by a large claw like monster that they had to take out. For once, Vanitas agreed with Roxas about reporting the mysterious thing to Saïx,

Vanitas then went back to Avengers tower and downed a sleeping potion, trying to give Roxas and Xion more alone time. It worked before he saw in his dream-vision that Xion decided to leave before even sitting down. Axel then appeared, and Roxas expressed his worry over her acting weirdly. Axel just told Roxas not to worry about it, keeping his voice low in a way that made Vanitas know the redhead was once again thinking about how she was apparently a Replica. Roxas just expressed his hope they'd get that day off so they could go to the beach soon.

The vision then shifted to show Xion at the Organization computer- _Wait, when did they get a computer?_ -and being upset at the information it gave her.

"No, no..." Xion muttered to herself. "Where is it?" She clacked more than a few keys until a new tab with red writing and the Nobody sigil came up. "Got it!"

Vanitas was able to make out the words "Xion" and "Castle Oblivion" before the vision ended. If he had to guess, then that means she just learned that she was born at the Castle.

_Wait, she_ just _learned that?_ Vanitas thought in his sleep.

He had to admit, he was just as surprised as Axel was to learn she originated from the castle. But, he figured Axel would have filled them in on that or something. I mean, he saw them more that Vanitas did, so why wouldn't he? Then again, how would they even react to this kind of news? Just a little while ago, Roxas seemed to be the kind to act with his Keyblade before acting in reason in some of these situations, and Xion had proven to go into a depression when hearing stuff like this. How would either of them have reacted to that news a few weeks ago? Moreover, how would they react to the news that apparently she's a Replica of somebody?

But one thing was heavy in his thoughts. Vanitas could slightly remember his discussion with Bruce and Tony about Xion possibly being another Nobody of Sora's. How did that relate to her being a Replica? If she was a Replica, then wouldn't she look like Sora?

It wasn't easy, but he managed to push these thoughts aside as he kept up the missions with Roxas. The two friends took out lots of Heartless together over the next few weeks, and managed to make it to the clock tower most nights.

Once specific night, Vanitas had another dream vision before heading out to join Roxas. It started with seeing some of the Organization in a meeting in the Round Room.

"I sent Axel to Castle Oblivion last night to help expedite the matter we spoke of," Saïx announced. "I also instructed him to clear out our facilities there. After all, we don't want anything we left behind to fall in the hands of Vanitas Jordan. He should return soon."

"And what of Naminé?" Xemnas asked.

"Still missing, sir," Saïx admitted.

"Where, oh where could she be?" Xigbar laughed.

"Why, Xigbar..." Saïx said in an accusatory manor. "It almost sounds as though you know."

Xigbar chuckled and Saïx growled at him like he was an idiot.

"Continue," Xemnas said.

"Somebody accessed our main computer without authorization," Saïx did exactly that.

"And you expect us to believe you really don't know who it was?" Xigbar asked. "As if. Little Poppet is turning into a problem."

"Nonsense," Saïx denied. "I see no problem from her whatsoever. The only problem we have is with Vanitas Jordan."

Xigbar laughed. "Well, no. Apparently you don't with her!"

"Something you find amusing?" Saïx asked, hidden anger still in his voice.

"Ah, the things you hear from a guy with no heart," Xigbar said.

Saïx opened his mouth to speak.

"No matter what unfolds, our plans remain unchanged," Xemnas announced, interrupting Saïx before he could even speak. Axel, Roxas, Vanitas, and Xion will play the respective roles that Kingdom Hearts has given them."

"But sir, Xion..." Saïx said.

"Leave it be," Xemnas told him. "And you will not go looking for Vanitas Jordan. Leave that to the Dusks. But how can you not see how perfect this is? In truth, this is more than perfect. Xion is marching right into the arms of destiny, but to destiny's own time. We need not take any more steps. All we must do is watch with caution and patience."

The vision then shifted to show Xion opening the front doors of Castle Oblivion and walking into the entrance hall, interspaced with flashbacks of when Vanitas had done this exact same thing with Sora, Donald, and Goofy not too long ago. She walked a few feet into the entrance hall, and grabbed her head in pain.

"My head...hurts..." Xion said aloud to herself.

She then had her own flashback that Vanitas saw of her back when she only wore her hood, walking to the doors to leave with Saïx.

"This is the last you'll ever see of these walls, Xion," Saïx informed her before her flashback ended.

Current Xion collapsed onto her knees while still gripping her head in pain. She then looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps to see Axel walking towards her.

"Axel..." Xion called out as he stopped a few feet in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just here on orders, that's all," Axel informed her. "There's nothing for you to see here."

"Lies!" Xion exclaimed. "This is the place I come from. I just know it."

"What about your mission?" Axel asked, dodging her claims. He walked forwards so that he was now in front of the girl kneeling down on the floor. "Don't be selfish."

"Or else they'll turn me into a Dusk?" Xion countered.

"They'll do worse than turn you into a Dusk," Axel informed her. He leaned down and offered her a hand. "They'll just destroy you."

"And is that because I'm useless?" Xion asked, ignoring Axel's hand and standing up on her own.

"That's not it," Axel denied.

Xion walked forwards a bit while looking down, and Axel grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Xion, go home," Axel insisted.

"I'm remembering things," Xion informed him. "I have memories of back when I was a human."

"Well, stop remembering," Axel told her. "Nothing good will come of it."

_That's bullshit_ , Vanitas thought.

"I have dreams every night," Xion announced, turning to face the redhead. "And you and V are in those dreams, Axel!"

"Then they sure aren't memories," Axel told her. "How could me or V be a part of your past? They're just dreams, that's all."

"You can't fool me," Xion informed him. "We've met before, Axel, right here in this castle!"

"No, we have not," Axel denied. He leaned down and put his hands on her shoulders. "Let's go home. Don't keep Roxas waiting."

"Please, Axel..." Xion insisted. "...you've got to help me. I need to know who I am."

Vanitas gasped awake as his vision ended. He then groaned out in annoyance. How come in some the visions he had, they ended before he got to the important parts?

He settled on the information he got from that vision and got ready, getting a smaller flash to see that Roxas was paired up with Luxord at Wonderland. Vanitas appeared in the usual flash of light at the bottom of the Rabbit Hole as the two blondes appeared through a dark corridor.

"Yet another mission here," Luxord commented.

"Let's hope things go as smoothly this time around," Roxas commented.

"I think we'll be all right," Vanitas informed him.

"Heh," Luxord chuckled. "Don't tempt fate. "You'll send Lady Luck running with talk like that."

"Maybe," Vanitas admitted. "But after being on a nine year murder rampage, I like to look on the brighter side of things."

"Good philosophy," Luxord commented. "Now time to ante up and play."

They went into the Bizarre Room and downed the shrinking medicine before going through the hedge mazes to witness the Queen of Hearts' court, and everyone there in pandemonium, apparently still searching.

"Are they still searching for the Heartless we took out last time?" Roxas asked.

"Possibly," Vanitas admitted.

"Like Vanitas said, time works weirdly between these worlds," Luxord added. "There is a chance this is the same day we were here last time."

"You might say they'll look for absolutely nothing until they find it," the Cheshire Cat announced. The trio looked up to see the cat on top of one of the hedge walls. "And if they don't find it here, perhaps they'll find it there... in the next maze. Unless, of course, they decide to look for the new shadow that's appeared. But that seems unlikely to me, does it to you?"

"Wait... the next maze?" Roxas asked. "There's more than one?"

"Oh, didn't you know?" the Cheshire Cat asked. "Here, a maze is a maze of mazes. Isn't that amazing!?"

The cat disappeared.

"He's gone," Roxas said in thought.

"Not quite," the Cheshire Cat's voice announced. The three looked around, trying to place it somewhere. "I've got one more quick quip. If four switches you trip... the new shadow unzips!"

"I will never understand that guy," Vanitas admitted.

"A 'new shadow', is it?" Luxord asked. "Hmm... Let's check the maze for those switches, my companions."

"Right," Roxas agreed.

"Let's roll," Vanitas agreed, pulling back the chamber of the Firestar M43 handgun he pulled out of his sling.

They went through the second maze and hit all the switches, before they made their way back to the Bizarre Room. Turning the switches turned on the lights in the four lanterns that were suddenly in the room. Light glared out of the lanterns, causing a large shadow to appear under the table. Their target, a Novashadow, which was a larger, brown and black Neoshadow, appeared from the shadow.

They fought off the Heartless in a way that was similar to the Neoshadow. Vanitas attacked with his handgun and a melee weapon, Luxord attacked with his cards, and Roxas attacked with his Keyblade, all the while dodging the slashes from the monster's claws, the shockwaves it dispersed on the ground, and the way it would sometimes lunge through the air after it came up out of the ground. Since it wasn't anything special, the trio managed to take out the Novashadow within just a few minutes of fighting. They stood in front of the table facing the Sleeping Doorknob, and dispersed their weapons.

"Let's head back, Roxas," Luxord announced.

Roxas looked at the taller man and nodded his head in agreement. Vanitas just simply waved goodbye and teleported away with his Vortex Manipulator.

Roxas and Vanitas made their way to the clock tower in their own separate ways. The two of them got there first, so they sat in their usual spots, waiting for their friends and looking out at the sunset with their ice cream bars.

"You're early," Axel greeted, announcing his arrival.

"No, you're just late," Roxas countered as the two shorter boys watched him walk to his spot.

"Gotta get the lead out, man," Vanitas joked.

Axel sat in his spot and smiled at his friends. The three of them sat there for a while, Axel and Vanitas eating their ice cream while Roxas still held his in his hand.

"Today makes 255," Roxas eventually announced.

"What's that about?" Axel asked with the bare ice cream stick between his teeth.

"It's been that many days since I first joined the Organization," Roxas explained. "Not counting the days I didn't keep track of on Earth 616. Man, time flies."

"Tell me about it, dude," Vanitas commented as Axel grabbed the bare stick from between his teeth.

"So, you got the number memorized, do you?" Axel asked, pointing the stick at Roxas.

"Yeah," Roxas said. During his next words he looked down and held his ice cream stick with both hands. "Have to hang on to something, right? It's not like I have memories from before the Organization. Don't you remember? I acted like a zombie."

Axel put his hand on Roxas's shoulder. Roxas looked up to see the redhead looking down.

"Right, that first week you could barely form a sentence," Axel said, looking to the side with his eyes closed.

Vanitas recognized the ruse almost immediately. Unfortunately, Roxas fell for it and looked down again.

"But come on..." Axel said, smacking Roxas on the shoulder blade and surprising him so much he almost dropped his ice cream. "...you're still kind of a zombie."

"Oh, thanks," Roxas said, moving his bar to his other hand and waving his arm at Axel in a jokingly warning manner.

"Oh, please, I'm more of a zombie than you guys," Vanitas countered, smile growing on his face as well. "I had the bloodlust."

The three laughed and looked out at the sunset again.

"Hey, Roxas," Axel said, getting the blonde's attention again. "I bet you don't know why the sun sets red. You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."

"Like I asked!" Roxas exclaimed, elbowing Axel slightly. "Know-it-all."

"You just wanted to brag about something related to your hair color," Vanitas accused.

Axel laughed and pointed to himself with his left thumb. The three laughed together, first in a simple manner, then they let their laughter overtake them as they continued staring at the sunset. Eventually, Roxas finished his ice cream, and was looking down at the stick while Axel laid back against the floor, and Vanitas leaned back a bit more against the wall behind them.

"Seriously, where is she?" Roxas asked in confusion, looking to the side at the entranceway.

After a few seconds of silence, complete with confused expressions from Roxas and Vanitas, Axel sat up and looked down.

"Guys..." Axel said, getting their attentions. "I'm not sure she's gonna show today."

"Did she collapse again?" Roxas asked with worry in his voice.

"She..." Axel started to say. He looked from them out at the sunset again. And Vanitas could tell the trademark situation of not wanting to face someone you're gonna lie to. "...What, didn't you hear? She got sent on a really important mission. Pretty cool, huh?"

Vanitas would have called bullshit, but he decided against it. He didn't like lying to his friends, but he didn't understand what was happening, himself. In the end, he just relented to play dumb. For Roxas's benefit, as well.

"Oh..." Roxas said. "So when's she coming back?"

"Well, I guess that depends on how well he does the job, right?" Axel asked.

"Heh, fair enough," Roxas chuckled.

He looked out at the sunset once again, and Axel looked at him sympathetically. The redhead then made contact with Vanitas, figuring he saw something in visions. Axel and Vanitas shared a look, and Vanitas made it clear with his eyes, and moving his lips to form the words without saying them, that he was only playing dumb for Roxas.

Eventually, they had to leave, and Roxas walked out of the pathway first. Vanitas watched him go, and kept up the happy persona until the blonde left.

"All right, Axel," Vanitas announced with real authority in his voice. "You better tell me what..."

He turned to face Axel, but the redhead was already gone. Looking around in confusion confirmed that the redhead had disappeared.

"Damn it," Vanitas breathed out, exasperated.

He then gripped his head as he witnessed Xemnas writing notes down. The man wrote that Xion's appearance was based on how the viewer saw her, which Vanitas already put together, and that Saïx maybe only saw her as a puppet. That might have made a lot of sense. But then he said that "the Program was nearing completion." And "Through Roxas, Xion is assembling a copy of the hero of the Keyblade. As proof, she sometimes appears to take on his form to the man's eyes." What the hell did any of _that_ mean?

Vanitas didn't even have time to ponder that for very long. He teleported back to Earth 616 and downed a sleeping potion, collapsing into his bed. His dream vision showed the Organization in a meeting the next morning, but the entirety of what was left of the Organization sitting in their thrones in the Round Room.

Xemnas looked out at his subjects and announced, "Xion is gone."

This caused surprise to erupt through some of the men (since when was the Organization such a sausage fest?) there, including Demyx, Luxord, and especially Roxas.

"What!?" Demyx asked in shock. "Whoa whoa, time out... You mean she, like, flew the coup?"

"Hah, preposterous," Xaldin commented after a nod. "What would drive her to choose her own demise?"

"On the contrary," Xemnas countered. "No one is to go looking for Xion without my express permission."

"What?" Roxas asked, leaning forwards in his seat. "Why not!?"

"Your 'friend' will be left alone," Saïx announced. "Or would you rather we find some punishment?"

"I'd rather you get her back!" Roxas yelled.

"And why would we do that?" Saïx asked simply.

"Rrgh..." Roxas growled in anger.

"All will be revealed when the time comes," Xemnas announced.

"Hmm..." Axel said with his hand on his chin in thought. "Which means, if the time doesn't come, things can stay as they are..."

"Lord Xemnas has spoken," Saïx announced. "Obey, or face your end."

Roxas looked down in sadness, as he had no choice but to relent.

Vanitas gasped awake as the vision ended. He breathed in and out as he sat up in his bed. What exactly were the leaders of the Organization up to?

Vanitas had to put that aside as he got ready for the days mission with Roxas. Today, they were gonna be in Halloween Town to try to figure out why the Heartless had been disappearing over the last few weeks. They appeared at the end of the alleyway through their means of transportation, and looked around in curiosity.

"Huh?" Roxas asked. "Where'd all those weird balloons go?"

"Maybe Jack got some sense and finally stopped making them," Vanitas suggested. "At least, I kinda hope that's what happened."

"Hey, so did you hear..." Roxas started to say.

"Xion's gone again?" Vanitas finished for his friend as they walked down the road to the town square. "Yeah, I saw the meeting you guys were in. You did not hesitate to hide your anger at them when they said they were just gonna leave her out there."

"Well, they just piss me off sometimes," Roxas admitted. "They go through all that to try to keep her there, but then don't even go looking for her once she disappears. It makes no sense. We should be looking for her."

"I know, buddy," Vanitas assured his friend, patting him on the shoulder as they walked into town square. "I know."

They stopped in front of the entrance gate and looked around in curiosity once again.

"No balloons here, either," Roxas remarked. "Or Heartless..."

"There's gotta be some explanation for this," Vanitas asked, still curious.

A single, beetle like Heartless appeared on the lower ground of the town and started scattering around in search.

"A Heartless!" Roxas announced while Vanitas pulled out his spear.

"And a little one at that," Vanitas remarked.

A Tentaclaw then popped up near the Heartless, and looked down at the scampering beetle.

"Whoa!" Roxas exclaimed in surprise. "That's... that thing from before!"

The Heartless scampered around for a little bit before stopping and looking up at the Tentaclaw. It jumped in surprise before the weird looking beast lunged forwards and gobbled it up in its mouth. The bulge of the Heartless slid down the length of the monster's body as it was digested.

"What!?" Roxas exclaimed in confusion. "It... eats Heartless?"

"The fuck!?" Vanitas exclaimed. "That cannot taste good..."

Two more Tentaclaws appeared around the town square, so Roxas summoned his Keyblade and they faced the monsters together. Roxas started with a combo attack on the one closest to them, and Vanitas swung and stabbed his spear at another one on the side. Roxas managed to figure out a trick where blocking when the claw lunged at him to attack sent it down on its back, stunning them and giving him enough time to do enough combos or spells to destroy it. While Vanitas learned that severing the claw from the ground also helped destroy it pretty quickly. So, he replaced his spear with his axe and hacked at the other one like it was a tree. It'd have been a lot easier if his chainsaw wasn't broken, but you work with what you've got, right?

They eventually took out the trio of Tentaclaws and put away their weapons.

"What _are_ those things?" Roxas asked in confusion. "What kind of creature feeds on Heartless?"

"Nothing that I've seen before," Vanitas admitted. "Not even anything I read about in that book of monsters."

"I guess it explains the drop in the Heartless population," Roxas said in thought.

"And that would be a good thing," Vnitas admitted. "But given that those things aren't exactly pleasant looking, I wouldn't see that as a good trade, even with how this place is."

Roxas looked down the nearby alleyway towards the entrance of the graveyard.

"Maybe we should see what's happening outside of town," he remarked.

The two friends went through the graveyard and reached the area with the curly hill. They stood at the base of the hill and looked around it to see a ladder on the wall opposite of them.

"That would have been a bit more handy than what we used last time," Vanitas commented.

The three brats then proceeded to jump down the ladder and run out of sight.

"Run awaaay!" Lock started, jumping down the wall and running.

"I told you not to pick that thing up!" Shock continued, jumping down the wall and running after him.

"How was I supposed to know it would grow!?" Barrel asked, jumping down the wall and running after his "friends."

"What are they running from?" Roxas asked, rhetorically.

The two started running forwards, but stopped when a Tentaclaw popped out in front of them. Tentaclaws then started popping up all around the area, including on top of the hill, until there were six of the monsters all around.

"Well..." Roxas said, summoning his Keyblade and standing in his battle stance. "One thing at a time."

"There's always something else in the way," Vanitas commented, gripping his axe with both hands.

The two of them went around the area, fighting the monsters all around. Using their fighting hacks, they managed to take out the Tentaclaws with very little difficulty. They then moved on to the area behind the area behind the graveyard and crossed the bridge. Traveling down to the area that Vanitas knew as the former sight of Oogie Boogie's manor, the the duo came face to face with something that made them jump in surprise.

"Hello!" Roxas exclaimed in surprise.

A giant, purple pumpkin looking Heartless head was in the ground, with four giant green vine like legs extending out and into the ground. The vines lifted up, raising up the big head and taking out a coffin underneath, wrapped in chains with big nails in the side, a hole showing off a Heartless eye, and the sigil right in the center. Nearby the green vine legs were large Tentaclaws, which showed that they were connected to the Heartless.

"I think I get it," Vanitas announced. "They ate the Heartless, and I guess... this thing absorbed the flesh and built it up to itself. And I'm just now realizing how fucking gross that sounds."

"Very, yeah," Roxas agreed, summoning his Keyblade and standing in his stance.

The duo quickly put together that destroying the Tentaclaws momentarily stunned the Leechgrave, so they used that method. One thing that made things difficult was that the Tentaclaws could gobble _them_ up, then they would go through the vine legs into the head, and get spat out with what they guessed was some kind of poison. Plus, going near the boss when it wasn't stunned gave the cue for giant tentacles snap out of the coffin and attack them, and the head shot out little, purple shots of poison. But using their stunning methods, the two managed to dwindle down the Leechgrave's health within the course of a few minutes. It then slammed down onto the ground and transformed into a crystal heart that floated up into the air and disappeared.

"Mission accomplished," Roxas announced, dismissing his Keyblade. "Time to RTC."

The two turned from where the Heartless was and started walking back the way they came to get back to the end of the alleyway, never noticing that Jack Skellington had witnessed the entire fight. They left the graveyard and walked down the alleyway back into town square. Jack had somehow arrived there before them, and was presenting something to Dr. Finklestein.

"There, it's perfect!" Jack announced. "Wouldn't you say, Doctor?"

"Hmm, yes, it is quite something..." the doctor said in thought.

"A harbinger of terror and torment!" Jack announced, gesturing to the scarecrow like thing above the fountain. The scarecrow was wearing a black coat, with a weird looking face drawn on and blonde like hair up top, and black tentacle like objects hung out of the wrists of the coat. "Stealthy and clever, it appears out of nowhere with spooky black tendrils growing out of its hands. Under its cloak, it conceals a countless battery of bombs! A fiend like this is guaranteed to plunge everyone into the very depths of fear!"

"Fascinating," Dr. Finklestein said, nodding his head. "And you plan to make this the centerpiece of next Halloween?"

"Yes!" Jack announced. "The idea occurred to me just moments ago."

"Well, you have my full support," the doctor assured him. "Quite a novel idea you've come up with this time, Jack."

"I'm glad you like it," Jack told him. "I can't wait to get busy building more of them!"

Jack turned and walked away with the doctor wheeling his chair behind him. Once they were out of sight, Roxas and Vanitas walked up to the scarecrow and looked up at it in confusion.

"Wait a second..." Roxas said in thought. "Is this thing supposed to be... me?"

"What the hell are you even doing, Jack?" Vanitas muttered as Roxas continued to look at it in confusion.

"I'm really not seeing it," Roxas admitted, looking down.

"I'm starting to think that he's drunk half the time," Vanitas admitted, before he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Although, I'm not sure how that would go through his system since... he doesn't have a system."

The two of them went back through the original alleyway they came out of, towards the dark corridor. They reached the dark corridor and stopped in front of it and...

"Trick or Treat!" a familiar voice called out from behind them.

"Wha-?" Roxas started to ask as they turned to face the three brats.

Lock threw a pumpkin at them and blew up in their face, causing Roxas to once again exclaim, "Waugh!"

"Ah ha ha ha!" Lock laughed with Shock and Barrel. "We got you!"

The three turned and started running down the allleyway.

"Again!?" Roxas asked in confusion. "Ugh... They haven't changed a bit."

"They never do learn," Vanitas admitted.

They left the world through their own means, Roxas in the corridor and Vanitas with his Vortex Manipulator, and made their way back to the clock tower. The two of them sat in their usual spots with their ice cream in silence, waiting for Axel, who ended up never showing.

"Axel could have shown up at least," Roxas admitted.

"Yeah, where the hell is he?" Vanitas asked in confusion, not expecting an answer.

The two of them kept up their missions together over the next couple of weeks, once again giving Vanitas very little chance to hang out with his Avenger friends as the time bewteen worlds made things weird. They managed to do pretty well on their missions, and kept up a good decor throughout everything...

Until eventually, Vanitas had a vision involving one of the _other_ people he was currently having a problem with...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I think this one is gonna overtake the KHI story as longest story
> 
> Also, the discussion between Vanitas, Tony, and Bruce about Xion being another Nobody of Sora's is back in chapter 9, so I didn't make that up. I was literally rereading some of the chapters to make sure I wasn't missing anything in this part, and I found that. Sometimes, it can be a good thing for a writer to read their own work, especially when its pretty long and you take a long time going through it


	22. Disorder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas learns a few important pieces of information from a lot of people through his visions, but like he originally, thought, he doesn't end up liking them

The vision started with Riku and Naminé sitting in a white room at a very white table, with a white vase in the center with white flowers. A sketchpad was on the table in front of Naminé, who was looking across the table at Riku, who was in his usual form with the blindfold over his eyes.

"So we meet again," Naminé greeted.

"You made me a promise," Riku informed her.

"I remember," Naminé admitted. "It was to look after Sora." She looked down in shame. "I'm sorry... I'm not sure I've kept that promise very well."

"Can you tell me what's happening?" Riku asked.

"Some of Sora's memories are missing," Naminé informed him.

"How could that be?" Riku asked.

"Sora's memories are escaping through Sora's Nobody into a third person..." Naminé explained. "...and now they're starting to become a part of her.

Riku looked down in thought and remembered Vanitas's words about not wanting to lose himself trying to help Sora, and realized there was some truth in them.

"Isn't there a way to bring back just Sora's memories?" Riku asked.

Naminé wanted to smile at Riku's changed demeanor towards Nobodies, but she couldn't with what she had to tell him.

"If they're still separate..." she continued. "...then I think I can take out fragments of it. But... if her memories and Sora's memories and Sora's memory fragments are completely weaved together... I would need to untangle them from each other and that would take even more time. Which means it would take even longer before Sora can wake up again. And DiZ wouldn't tolerate that."

"So what can you do?" Riku asked.

"If I just jump in and rearrange her memory..." Naminé started to explain. "Then Sora might wake up... Only to find out that nobody remembers him anymore." She looked down in sadness. "That's a risk I just can't take... It's too late either way. Sora's awakening has already been delayed. Sora's Nobody and the one that's absorbing his memory... None of us imagined that they would fight so hard to become their own people. Unfortunately, the only real solution... is for them both to go away."

Riku stayed silent at that. he knew Vanitas had a point about not wanting to lose himself to destroy them... But if this was really the only solution, what could he do?

"Did you know her face was blank at first?" Naminé asked. "But now... there is a face that is clearly visible. I think that's proof that she has entered Sora's memories. Sora's memories, Sora's Nobody's memories, and her memories... They're all a jumbled mess now. And to put them back into one... I'm afraid there's no other way."

"...All right," Riku admitted, nodding his head even though he didn't sound too happy about it.

Vanitas gasped awake as the vision ended and sat up, breathing in and out.

"No..." he denied breathlessly. "There-there has to be another way... There has to!"

He rammed his fist into his nightstand, which ended up smashing a hole through the wood.

Vanitas went out to the table for breakfast, and filled Tony and Bruce in on everything he had taken note of over the last few days. Needless to say, they were certainly shocked from the sound of it all.

"I guess we can disregard Riku as an enemy," Bruce announced to try to find a bright side. "Sounds like he's turned around a bit from actively wanting to destroy them."

"But that doesn't mean he won't destroy them," Vanitas pointed out. "If he thinks it'll wake up Sora. But there has to be another way to help him. There _has_ to be a way to safely get his memories out of Roxas and Xion and put them back in his head."

"But what if there isn't?" Tony asked. "Naminé herself doesn't see any way out of this, other than... well, you know..."

"But she doesn't have the spell books we have," Vanitas remarked, pulling out the book he had from his sling. "After SHIELD fell, weren't you given possession of of that book Pierce had used to mix the helicarriers with darkness?"

"Yeah..." Tony said, trailing off.

He ran out of the room and reappeared with a similarly worn out book in his hands, this one purple as opposed to Vanitas's brown one.

"I requested it after explaining that you might know what to do with it," Tony informed him, handing the book to Vanitas.

The ravenette opened the book and saw the words were all in Latin. Luckily that was one of the languages he could speak and managed to find the table of contents section for memory.

"There's like, twelve pages of memory related charms," Vanitas announced. "Man the guy who wrote this must have been _una sola guido_."

Vanitas then gripped his head as he had a vision. He saw Roxas on the beach at Destiny Islands, looking down at the beach shore. He leaned down and picked up a seashell, and sighed out about how much he missed Xion.

The blonde then looked up and saw that there was a familiar figure on the smaller bit of land the wooden bridge led to, so he ran up it as fast as he could. He yelled out for Xion, and the figure turned towards the happy Roxas. But then Roxas's smile dropped when the figure removed their hood, revealing... Zexion.

This next part confused Vanitas entirely. Younger Riku then appeared behind Roxas on the bridge, and he and Zexion had an argument they had back in Castle Oblivion. Roxas gripped his head and fell to his knees, and then became Xion. Xion gripped her head as the conversation continued, before she fell to the ground completely on her side, turning into the younger Riku. Riku then writhed in pain for a bit longer, before transformed into Sora, who was still writhing in pain.

Vanitas did not know what was going on, but he was pretty sure someone was just having an acid trip, and he witnessed the pandemonium in their heads.

The vision then changed to show Xion on the ground, with Riku on his knees and holding her in a surprisingly comforting manner.

"Who am I?" Xion asked, still kinda unconscious. "What am I... here for?"

Riku looked up in surprise to see Roxas on the other part of the island, not even looking back as he ran through a dark corridor. He just relented to look down at Xion in his arms, and Vanitas ended up seeing the dream she was having.

She was gathered with Roxas, himself, and Axel, sitting at the tree that Sora, Riku and Kairi usually sat at. The order they sat in was Vanitas, then Roxas, then Xion, while Axel stood on the ground leaning against the tree with his hands on the back of his head on her left side. They were all staring out at the sunset in front of them, similar to what they would do on the clock tower.

"Is it that I'm not supposed to exist?" Xion asked aloud.

Roxas and Vanitas looked over at her sympathetically.

"Well, what do you want to do, Xion?" Axel asked her.

"I want..." Xion started to say. "I want to be with you three."

She put her hands together and looked down, before Roxas leaned forwards and put his hand on top of hers.

"Then come back with us," Roxas pleaded in a happy manner.

"It'll be all good," Vanitas assured her.

"I can't..." Xion denied, and Roxas took his hand off of hers'. "Not the way I am now." She paused. "But... what would it take for me to be like you?"

The three boys said nothing as they continued staring out at the sunset. The dream soon ended, along with Vanitas's vision.

"What'd you see?" Bruce asked as Vanitas got out of the vision.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure someone was just tripping on acid," Vanitas admitted. He looked up. "Listen, you got that universal translator I helped you guys build?"

"Yeah," Tony assured him. "I'm still wondering when we'll ever have the need to speak Elvish to someone, but we've got the device finished."

"Good, do me a favor and get started on translating some of these memory spells," Vanitas told him. "I gotta go check on Roxas, make sure he's okay. Once I get back, I'll help with the thing."

"All right," Tony agreed, nodding his head. "But you've gotta get whatever takeout we want when you get back for the next week."

"That's fair," Vanitas admitted. He pressed the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator and disappeared in a flash of light.

He appeared at the base of the clock tower in Twilight Town, and walked up the stairs to join his friends. Although, now that he thought about it, he didn't know how to face them. How are you supposed to chat casually with a friend after learning that that friend's existence was endangering another friend? And how would you even share that information?

Vanitas did his best to put that information in the back of his head as he walked through the path at the top to see Roxas and Axel there.

"You think so?" Axel was asking as Roxas sat in his usual spot.

"Hey," Vanitas greeted, moving to his spot as well.

"How've you been?" Axel said, noticing that Vanitas had the same level of uncomfortableness that he had in his eyes not too long ago around Xion.

"I've been managing," Vanitas admitted, sitting in his spot.

"So... I went to the beach today," Roxas announced. "And there was this girl who looked kind of like Xion... but I couldn't get close enough to tell for sure. I probably imagined it."

Axel and Vanitas remained silent as the blonde explained his day.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure today's mission really happened," Roxas admitted. "Feels like I just woke up from a dream or something."

_So was he having an acid trip?_ Vanitas thought as he remembered what he saw in his visions.

"Do you remember our promise?" Roxas asked, looking at Vanitas and Axel. "When we said that the four of us would go to the beach on our next break?"

Vanitas nodded his head as Roxas looked out at the sunset.

"Maybe that's why," Roxas continued. "Maybe I saw Xion there because I wanted to see her there."

Vanitas and Axel shared a look of concern for their friend and his obvious heartache... if you can call it heartache when they didn't have hearts to their knowledge. Axel looked down before standing up and looking to the side while sighing out. He looked down at his blonde friend.

"Wanna go look for her?" Axel suggested.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"Beginning tomorrow, let's use our spare time to find Xion," Axel explained.

"To hell what the bosses said," Vanitas elaborated in agreement. "Let's look for her ourselves."

"Mm-hmm," Roxas nodded his head before moving to stand up. "Sounds good, let's do that."

Roxas looked out at the sunset, while Axel and Vanitas looked down in worry. Axel still not knowing what to do knowing that Xion was a Replica, and how she had run away from him. While Vanitas's was wondering how he was still supposed to accept this new information involving his friends. He looked up with new determination in his eyes. He wasn't going to accept it, because he was gonna find them a way out of it. With Tony and Bruce's help, he'd find a way to keep them safe. He _had_ to.

Vanitas then teleported back to Earth 616 and went to the pizza parlor, making up for the pizza he had failed to get during the SHIELD incident. While waiting, he ended up having a vision back with Riku and Xion. Xion slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the guy holding her.

"Are you..." she started to ask.

"Riku," Riku confirmed. "Sora's friend."

"Sora?" Xion asked. She sat up, out of his arms. "You know Sora?"

"Yeah," Riku confirmed before standing up and offering her a hand.

Xion took the hand and Riku helped her stand up.

"Thank you," she told him gratefully. "You saved me, but I don't know why... you did."

"I guess...I just felt like it," Riku said as he started to walk past her.

"Riku, please... Tell me more," Xion called out, stopping Riku as he was in front of the wooden bridge. "About Sora and that girl he's always with."

"You mean Kairi," Riku assessed.

"Kairi..." Xion said in thought. She put her hand to her head. "That's right. She's the one who looks so much like me."

Riku walked back over to her to face her.

"To Sora, she's someone very special," Riku informed her.

"It's just..." Xion said, turning from him and starting to walk towards a tall palm tree. "I remember things about the two of them. But I'm nothing more than a puppet; something that somebody created." She rested her hand on the tree. "So why would I have... their memories?"

She looked over her shoulder at Riku.

"Do you know where Sora is now?" Xion asked.

"That secret stays with me and Vanitas," Riku informed her.

Xion looked down, honestly not surprised that Vanitas knew this man.

"Why's that?" Xion asked.

"Xion..." Riku started to say. "...your memories... they really belong to Sora."

"So you mean..." Xion started to say, looking over her shoulder towards him again. "I'm like a part of him?"

"When his memories were scattered, some of them..." Riku explained, walking over to join her next to the tree. She looked down and covered her face with her hand as she understood where he was going with this. "...found their way inside you. Now, Sora has been put to sleep so that we can piece together his memory. Except..."

"You can't, because part of it is inside of me," Xion finished for him. "That means... he can't wake up."

"Yeah," Riku confirmed. "You got it. Vanitas has probably figured this out by now, and is probably looking for a way to help both of you guys. But... there aren't a lot of things he can do. Although, if you go with me to Sora right now, we could give the memories inside you back to him."

"So, do you hate me for taking your friend away from you?" Xion asked, looking up at him with a slight frown.

"Nah," Riku admitted. "I guess... I'm just sad."

The frown disappeared from Xion's face and was replaced with her own sad expression. She looked down.

"I'm sorry, but..." Xion started to say. "I can't go with you. It's my friends... they need me." She raised her hand up and closed it into a determined fist as she closed her eyes. "And I need them, too."

Riku put a hand on Xion's shoulder, getting her attention.

"Maybe..." Riku started to say. "You should take some time and think about it. Figure out who really needs you more. And where you belong."

"How will I know... where I belong, truly?" Xion asked. She looked down. "I'm not sure I can promise you I'll come up with the right answer."

"Well, the answer you come up with can't just be right for you," Riku informed her. "It has to be the one that works best for everybody. You and your friends and everybody else."

Riku took his hand off of her shoulder and walked out of sight.

"I'll try," Xion assured, knowing he could probably hear her even though she couldn't see him. She looked up. "Thank you, Riku."

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended just as the lady called him up for his pizza. He sighed out as he took the pizza, getting an eye from the lady there, who no doubt thought he was a little nuts after seeing him gripping his head like that. Vanitas just nodded his head at her before walking out of the shop.

He hated to admit it, but Riku had a point. If they couldn't find a solution in the spell book, then the only option they had left was for Xion to make a decision that was best for everybody. And that decision might mean she won't end up surviving.

And Vanitas didn't want that to happen. After whatever the hell happened to Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, and losing Sora, Donald, and Goofy to their memories like this, he was done with losing his friends. He had to find a way to fix Sora and protect them at the same time.

"But there might not be a way to save them," Vanitas reminded himself as he neared the doors to Avengers Tower. "Jeez, I can only imagine what could possibly make this situation worse than it already is."

He thought rewording it in some way that didn't make a lot of sense would get him out of experiencing things immediately getting worse. It didn't work. As he walked through the doors of Avengers Tower, Vanitas never noticed that the chameleon circuit was on the fritz today. So he never noticed the Dusks that were sneaking along on the rooftops of New York, trailing him back to the tower. The Dusks disappeared in flashes of darkness, ready to report their findings to the one who requested it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Una Sola Guido- Latin for "One lonely guy"
> 
> Also, remember, Riku was pretty patient with Xion during that meeting on Desimy Islands, even if he was pretty much encouraging her to kill herself for Sora. I figured that that bloodlust way he was when he and Vanitas last met wouldn't have made sense here, so i thought about it, and you have to admit: in some way, he does have to know it's wrong that the only way out they can find is to destroy them, so i went with that. From one guy who went crazy on a determined searching rampage to another, you know?


	23. Problems galore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas helps Roxas search for Xion after his missions, but then gets a nasty surprise

The next day, Vanitas helped out Roxas during a mission in Wonderland once again. They appeared at the bottom of the rabbit hole through their own means, and started walking down the hallway. However, a familiar voice stopped them in their tracks.

"All alone today, are you two?" the Cheshire Cat asked as he appeared in front of them.

"How ya doing, ya wacky feline?" Vanitas asked.

"Look, did you have something to tell me?" Roxas asked. "Because if not-"

"You might say I do, or you might say I don't," the Cheshire Cat admitted. "What do you say?"

" _ **I**_ say sending Luxord to this world was a perfect choice by your bosses," Vanitas informed Roxas. "The way he and this cat always talk in riddles means they probably get along."

"I say see you around," Roxas told the cat. "We've got work to do. We have to go."

The two started walking past the cat down the hallway, but were once again stopped by the cat.

"Ahh, but go where?" the feline asked. "To see the large shadow, perhaps?"

"There's a Heartless here?" Roxas asked.

"Indeed, but to find this shadow you must scour the shade," the Cheshire Cat informed them.

"The shadow under the table," Vanitas announced in realization, pointing at Roxas while the cat vanished.

"We get a Novashadow and whatever Heartless we're gonna have to fight today from there?" Roxas asked. "How many giant Heartless are in this world?"

They went into the Bizarre Room and drank the medicine, shrinking the duo down to the small levels. They stood next to the shadow on the ground and turned to see the Cheshire Cat waiting for them.

"It's nearly here now," the Cat announced. "Are you quite prepared? If not, well... good-bye..."

"He has _not_ changed," Vanitas remarked as the cat disappeared out of view.

The two looked towards the shadow from the table and watched as an outline of a Heartless appeared on the ground. The outline then grew into the air and became a large, completely black Trickmaster. Color then set in, showing that due to the different colors and designs that it was a different type of Heartless, a Crimson Prankster instead. The Prankster then mitoses-ed into to versions of itself, so that there were two of them facing the boys instead of one. Roxas summoned his Keyblade and Vanitas pulled out an M4A2 rifle with an attached grenade launcher.

The two friends separated, figuring it would be easier to take out one the Pranksters on their own. Roxas used aerial combos and spells to fight off his Prankster while dodging fireballs, swings from the Heartless's staffs, and fiery spinning attacks. Vanitas managed to keep his distance by firing with his rifle, along with occasionally blasting grenades from the attached launcher. Eventually, Vanitas managed to use enough grenades to blow his Prankster to hell, destroying it pretty easily.

But, since Roxas's Prankster still had more than a bit of health left, it was able to mitosis itself and form another Prankster for them to face.

"They have to be defeated at almost the same time," Vanitas realized with Roxas. "Oh, that would have been nice to know."

Vanitas continued firing his rifle while Roxas continued attacking with his Keyblade. The two of them decided to be smarter and keep track of the health for both of them, so they were defeated at around the same time. Roxas used his Limit Break attack to finish off both Pranksters after Vanitas fired an extra grenade at both giant Heartless, finishing them both off.

The last Prankster dropped its staffs and fell onto its front. It was then surrounded in purple light, disappearing and releasing a crystal like heart into the air. The pair of friends put away their weapons and looked up onto the table to see the Cheshire Cat appear, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Bravo!" the cat exclaimed. "Bravo! The shadow's no more; even it can't shine in the light."

"...So who are you, anyway?" Roxas asked after a pause. "If you're going to help us, why talk in riddles? Are you a friend or an enemy?"

"Neither... or both..." the Cheshire Cat said. "It's quite up to you."

"Up to me?" Roxas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Why, yes," the Cat assured him. "Once you believe, the truth and a lie are quite the same thing. Let your heart decide... it's in your heart you must confide."

The cat disappeared, and Roxas looked forwards in sadness.

"Easy for him to say..." he remarked. "How am I supposed to do that when I don't have a heart?"

"Don't worry, man," Vanitas assured him. "When I was here with my friends, we had hearts, and we didn't even figure out what the fuck he was talking about. Sometimes, there are things that you can't figure out even with a heart."

Roxas un-furrowed his eyebrows and his sadness became a slight smile.

"All right, that makes me feel a little better," he admitted. "But I still don't know what to believe in."

"I don't really, either," Vanitas admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Just another situation where even with a heart, you can't figure it out."

They left the world and searched around on Beast's Castle for Xion. They spent the next few weeks searching around worlds like Halloween Town, Wonderland, and Agrabah to find their missing friend, to no avail. They eventually had a mission at Olympus Coliseum where Roxas had to take out Heartless in the games. They appeared at the world through their means of transportation and stood in front of the coliseum, looking up at it in thought.

"So today they want me to enter the Games and take out Heartless?" Roxas asked. "Sounds more like exercise than anything else."

"How much you wanna bet this was Xigbar's idea?" Vanitas asked Roxas.

"300 munny," Roxas said, and they shook their hands to seal the bet. "Well, the sooner we can get it done, the sooner we can go find Xion."

They entered the coliseum vestibule, and Roxas stopped once again in thought.

"Hmm..." he said. "I wonder how I'm gonna get signed up. V, how did you and your friends do it?"

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted. "When we were here, we were given a pass of entry by one of Maleficent's lackeys, under hope we'd get killed during the Preliminary Games. The ones after that... I don't really remember."

"Am I seein' things!?" Phil's voice exclaimed. "Rookie, is that you?"

The two looked up at the entranceway to the coliseum, and Phil appeared through the blackness, walking into the vestibule and stopping to look up at them.

"Huh?" Roxas asked in confusion before shaking it off. "Oh, uh... hey."

"Hey, Phil," Vanitas waved in greeting. "Oh, thanks for referring me to Theodin. As you can see, he did a pretty good job making me these robes."

"No problem," Phil assured, waving a hand at the ravenette before looking at the both of them. "I haven't seen either of you in ages. How are ya?"

"We're hanging in there," Roxas assured the satyr.

"That's good," Phil said. "'Cause that vanishing act you pulled at the end of the last Games had me worried."

"Sorry..." Roxas told him.

"Well, I figured you musta pulled through," Phil admitted. "No lousy Heartless is gonna wipe the floor with one of my boys. Speakin' of which, when were ya plannin' to tell me you weren't the guy Herc sent?"

"Well, if you had just liste-" Roxas started to say.

"This whole time I thought you were the Champ's top pick!" Phil interrupted him. "How come you never said anything, either, V?"

"Technically, you never asked me where he came from," Vanitas pointed out. "And Herc never came up in conversation when we talked. So, you never really mentioned that you thought Roxas was a trainee from him."

"All right, that's fair," Phil admitted before looking up at Roxas. "Okay, let's start over, Roxas. Where ya really from? Who sent ya?"

"Um..." Roxas said with uncertainty. "Well... ...I, uh... Hmm."

"Say no more," Phil announced. "I get the picture."

"You do!?" Roxas asked in surprise.

"Sure, everybody's got a thing or two they wanna keep hush-hush," Phil announced. "Forget it; doesn't matter. Let me get to the good news!"

"Oh, yeah?" Roxas asked. "What good news?"

"The Games are bein' held again today," Phil informed him. "You got the perfect timing, kid. You want in? This time you might even walk home with the title."

"But... You sure you don't mind?" Roxas asked.

"Sure I'm sure!" Phil announced. "But, since Vanitas hasn't been training with you or anything, he doesn't qualify to pair up with you. Sorry."

"Drat," Roxas remarked, looking up at his friend.

"Don't worry," Vanitas assured his friend. "I'll be there in the audience cheering the loudest."

"Good boy!" Phil announced. He looked up at Roxas. "Just gimme a holler when you're all set."

Roxas did exactly that, and Vanitas watched with Phil as Roxas fought through Wave after Wave of Heartless, taking out lots of big boys and very little little boys, but he managed to get through them all. Vanitas and Phil cheered with the little audience that was in the bleachers(?) as Roxas took out the Heartless, winning the Games.

"Attaboy, Roxas!" Phil praised once they were back in the vestibule. "That's what I like to see!"

"Nice to see all that training's had an impact on ya, buddy," Vanitas praised, patting the blonde on the shoulder.

"You musta been stickin' to your training while you were gone," Phil continued. "Trust me, kid, it shows. Keep up those workouts, and you're gonna get a lot stronger."

"I will," Roxas assured him.

"Good," Phil said. "Now, I gotta head back inside to get ready for the next match, but, uh..."

"What?" Roxas asked.

"Nothin', nothin'," Phil remarked. "Well, all right, then... I'm gonna go."

The satyr turned and started walking back to the doorway. Roxas and Vanitas turned, but before they could start walking to the door, they were stopped by Phil once again.

"Hey, Roxas, V..." the satyr called out.

The two looked over their shoulders at the satyr with his back to them.

"Yeah?" Roxas asked.

"What's up?" Vanitas asked.

"Don't be strangers," Phil told them before he walked through the entrance to the field, out of sight.

This confused Roxas a bit.

"What, he wants us to come back?" he asked. "For what? More training?"

"Eh, who knows with satyrs," Vanitas admitted. "I'm pretty sure if he lived in a more modern world, his favorite food wood be tin cans."

"Hunh, weird," Roxas admitted. "Well, the mission's done. Time to go grab Axel and see if we can find Xion."

They met up with Axel and went searching around some of the remaining worlds once again, still finding nothing in them. After a while, they relented and went back to the clock tower for a rest.

"It's no use," Roxas announced as they walked along the side of the top to reach the front of the tower.

"You sure you're not forgetting some place?" Axel asked.

"I've been everywhere I know how to get to," Roxas assured.

"I went with him," Vanitas added. "Beast's Castle, Agrabah, Wonderland, Neverland, even Earth 616. Nothing."

"All right..." Axel said, sitting in his spot while Roxas and Vanitas remained standing.

Vanitas leaned against the wall next to them and crossed his arms as Roxas remained in thought.

"The only place I haven't been to is Castle Oblivion," Roxas admitted. Axel looked up in slight surprise, but dropped it as he looked at the blonde. "It was just the other day that Xion was asking you guys what the place was like. And the day before she disappeared, you said she was put on an important mission. Remember?"

Axel looked forwards while the blonde explained his reasoning.

"Yeah..." he admitted. "But there's nothing there anymore."

"Except for a bunch of blindingly white walls," Vanitas added. "*mutters* Man, I've gotta get a decorator out there soon."

"Well, Xion might be there," Roxas pointed out.

Axel sighed out in defeat.

"Apparently..." he started to explain. "Xion comes from Castle Oblivion."

"What?" Roxas asked.

"That's probably why she was asking about the place," Axel admitted.

"I had no idea..." Roxas said, looking forwards in thought.

"Me neither," Axel told him. "I only found out a little while ago."

"Yeah, but how do you share that kind of information?" Vanitas asked, knowing Axel was lying about the "little while ago" part. "I mean, there's no casual way to announce something like that, right?"

Axel nodded his head while Roxas frowned slightly.

"You knew, didn't you?" Roxas asked.

"I saw when Axel found out," Vanitas admitted.

"Anything else you're not telling us?" Roxas asked nonchalantly.

Vanitas looked at his friends in thought for a second.

"I got the Vortex Manipulator from a crazy dude that wants to kill you guys," he said.

Roxas and Axel looked at Vanitas pretty blankly for a second.

"V, this is no time for jokes," Roxas told him, still nonchalant as he looked out at the sky in front of them.

"That...wasn't a joke..." Vanitas muttered.

"Castle Oblivion..." Roxas said in thought. "Xion..."

The trio of boys stayed there while looking out in thought for a little while before they decided it was time to leave. Vanitas appeared on the street of New York, just down the road from Avengers Tower. He had recently started doing this after a while to relent to JARVIS's rules about security. He figured if the AI was gonna help him get a better outfit, he'd do him a favor and follow his rules.

"Man," Vanitas sighed out as he walked down the street. "We're almost out of options. Half those memory related spells in the book are bullshit, and some of the others wouldn't work. There's only a few things left, but we don't know if they'll work."

Vanitas continued to despair to himself as he saw the Tower come into distance. A flare of light garnered made him curious, so he looked down to see a heads-up penny on the ground in front of him.

"Well," Vanitas said. "I need all the luck I can get."

Vanitas leaned down and picked up the penny. Just in time, because a large blue and white object similar to a claymore flew over his head and smashed into a car in the road in front of him. Vanitas quickly looked up at the car with the claymore in it. Luckily, the claymore only smashed up the empty passenger side, but the driver still got out and looked at it in shock. Some idiots around him took out their phones and took pictures and videos as the claymore twirled around and disappeared.

Vanitas then stood up and looked behind him, looking for the origin of where the weapon was thrown. Luckily, he was able to find it quickly in the form of a man wearing an Organization XIII cloak on a fireplace a few buildings behind him.

"I guess that luck's already setting in," Vanitas remarked.

He put the bandana over his mouth and nose in preparation of battle, and started running towards the building. The man in the Organization cloak turned and started running up the fire escape stairs.

Vanitas then used his athletics to run up onto a car, then jumped on the cars that were covering the road, towards the building. Once he got close enough to the building, he leaped up high and climbed onto the fire escape. He ran up the stairs onto the roof, seeing the Organization member running across to the opposite side of the building.

Vanitas ran across the rooftop after the man, who jumped down onto a lower building in front of the one they were currently on. Once he got close enough to the ledge, he jumped across the alleyway onto the other building, still following the Organization member. Vanitas managed to get closer to the man during the run across the building, giving him a clearer image of the man's figure.

The Organization member then jumped off of the other building's roof, falling quickly and effectively onto an awning for a shop below, then onto the ground. Once he got close enough, Vanitas leaped over the edge and followed the Organization member onto the awning, then onto the road. Vanitas kept running after the Organization member down the road, having to push past all the people on sidewalks, and over cars on the actual road.

Eventually, Vanitas lost track of the man in the crowd, so he leaped up onto a bus that had stopped at a red light, and looked around inquisitively. Unfortunately, he couldn't make out an Organization cloak anywhere in the crowds of people in the city.

"Damn it!" Vanitas exclaimed.

He then jumped off of the bus and landed on the sidewalk in a roll before continuing to run around the city, trying to find the member of the Organization. Eventually, he was only one street down from the edge of Central Park with grass and trees in sight, still looking around.

Luckily, his eyes managed to find the trademark black cloak of the Organization around a man running down the sidewalk next to the grass of Central Park, trying to get away. Going over the timing in his head, Vanitas ran down a nearby alleyway and towards the Organization member. Once the man got into the right position, and Vanitas got his timing right, the ravenette lunged forwards and tackled the taller man onto the grass of the city, causing the two to roll across the ground due to the momentum.

Vanitas then stood up and regarded the Organization member who was doing the same thing.

"Who the hell are you?" Vanitas demanded as people in the park either ran away, or continued to be idiots and film what was happening.

The man said nothing in response.

"How the hell did you find me?" Vanitas tried again, once again to no avail. He then realized something and looked down at the Vortex Manipulator on his wrist. "Ah, damn it! I never paid too much attention to when the Chameleon circuit was on."

He groaned annoyance at his mistake before looking back at the Organization member in front of him. The man then held out his hand, and the claymore appeared backhanded in it with a flash of light blue light. The man then stood in a battle stance with his claymore backhanded, facing Vanitas.

"All right," the ravenette announced, pulling out his sledgehammer. "Let's do this."

Vanitas ran forwards and swung his sledgehammer at the Organization member, who ducked under the weapon. He slid on the ground under the giant hammer and swung his claymore at Vanitas, who backed up to dodge. Vanitas then swung his sledgehammer, which got caught against the claymore. The two then swung their weapons at each other, with each one clanging against each other, similar to blades.

Vanitas then jumped over the Organization member in a front flip and kicked him in the back, knocking him forwards a bit. Vanitas then rammed the front of the hammer right between the man's shoulder blades before raising it up above his head and smacking it right into the man's back, knocking him forwards once again.

The man then turned to face Vanitas and started to swing his claymore a lot at Vanitas, which he dodged by backing up a lot. But then, he finished it off by knocking the sledgehammer right out of hands, which ended up flying through the air into a nearby tree.

Vanitas then backflipped as the man slammed the claymore into the ground, causing shockwaves across the grass towards him. The ravenette continued backflipping to dodge the shockwaves. Once he landed, he pulled out to Ruger handguns and pointed them right at the man. He fired many times at the Organization member, with the bullets still having very little effect on the cult member.

Once the handguns ran clicked empty, Vanitas put away his handguns and walked right towards the Organization member. The man swung his claymore, which Vanitas caught. He then rammed the claymore into the man's head, causing him to exclaim in pain. Vanitas then pulled the claymore out of the man's hand while spinning around, and back-kicking the man in the chest, knocking him back.

He tossed the claymore aside and turned to face the Organization member once again, who had recovered. The man raised his hand to re-summon his claymore, but Vanitas stopped him by running forwards and tackling him once again. The two tumbled on the ground once again for a few seconds, but Vanitas quickly recovered and kicked the man in the head.

Vanitas then stood up and looked down at the Organization member, who was still on the ground, exclaiming in pain as he placed his hand over his face. The ravenette then stomped on the man's ankle, causing him to cry out in pain once again, keeping him in place.

"If you're not gonna tell me who you are," Vanitas announced, leaning down and reaching for the hood. "Then I'll check it out for myself."

The man reached high up into the air, and the sound of something surging appeared behind Vanitas. Vanitas looked behind him in confusion, then quickly jumped out of the way as a giant club swung at him. Landing on the ground, Vanitas looked up to see a very big Nobody leaning on an equally large club in its hand, looking down at him.

Vanitas had to back up a bit more as the Nobody swing its club at him. Once he got far enough back, he quickly pulled one of the Rugers back out and slid a fresh magazine inside. He fired the handgun at the Nobody that charged at him, until it clicked empty just as the last bullet made the creature fall back onto its back. The Nobody then seemingly exploded, releasing small white pieces into the air that then disappeared.

"That can't be good for the environment," Vanitas commented.

He turned towards the Organization member he had fought to see that the man was missing. There was no doubt in his mind that the man had summoned the Nobody to distract him long enough to leave, which obviously succeeded.

Vanitas sighed out as he removed the bandana from around his face, letting it hang around his neck. He looked down in thought for literally two seconds to think about who that man could have been before he realized that to this point, he hadn't seen just one member of the Organization in battle at some point or other.

"Damn, Saïx," Vanitas muttered. "Never thought _you'd_ be one to ignore a direct order. I mean, the man in charge outright told you not to look for me. I can't imagine that'll go well."

Vanitas's smartphone started ringing, and he pulled it out and answered, seeing it was the man who had given the item to him in the first place.

"Hey, Tony, what's up?" Vanitas asked.

"V, you might wanna get back here fast," Tony informed him. "You're kind of on the news."

Vanitas looked around to see that while people were filming with their phones, people carrying big cameras near news vans were standing with them.

"Yeah, good point," Vanitas agreed.

He put the phone in his pocket and pressed the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator, not wanting to run into any news people along the way. Setting the co-ordinates for the roof of Avengers Tower, Vanitas pressed the teleport button and disappeared in a flash of light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fight against Saïx was actually part of the original plan for this story when I had the man instruct Axel to find Vanitas. The fights against Riku and Xemnas just got added on a whim after I realized it'd make sense for a battle against Riku with everything that was going on. I then figured it would make sense to have Xemnas and Vanitas fight on their own, since I've had Vanitas fight against Xehanort and Ansem on his own before. And while Xehanort had little effect, and he lost pretty much immediately against Ansem, I figured facing him in his current form against Xemnas would be cool. With this fight done, we're I'm a little anxious because with how they still breezed through most missions at this point in the game, we're getting closer to the end. Four 30+ episodes of the Timeline left of Days, then the part at the beginning of II where we play as Roxas, which I mentioned, I'll just breeze over. Once that's done, I'll do what I said and "jump the gun" before moving on to KH2. Like I said in the last notes of the Winter Soldier story, you'll know what I mean when we get there


	24. Fracture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes after the Organization Imposter, but then things get pretty unpleasant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I graduated a week ago, so I don't exactly have as much to do around here nowadays, so I have more opportunities for fanfiction, both reading and writing

"Well, at least this encounter with other worldly beings didn't result in mass destruction and death," Tony pointed out.

"That's a good point," Bruce agreed. "The worst that happened was some guy got some very big dents in his car."

Vanitas had explained what happened pretty quickly to Tony and Bruce over dinner of tacos and burritos. The news was still blowing up a bit due to the unexpected nature of this fight, so he had to make sure his friends actually got the details about what was going on. They weren't really that surprised since they had been waiting for something like this for a while now, like since Vanitas fought Xemnas. Expecting it wasn't exactly the same experience as seeing it, though.

"Whatever the case," Vanitas remarked. "This means they know where I am now, so they could attack whenever they feel like it, as evidenced by Saïx doing this little ambush. I just hope that Xemnas doesn't agree with his decision to attack to this world. We have enough problems with Heartless in other worlds, and crazy people on this world trying to destroy it or take it over every few months without Nobodies getting involved."

"Yeah," Tony admitted with a slight laugh. "Yeah, that happens a little too often around here."

"Anyway," Vanitas said before taking a sip of his Cherry Coke. "Has there been any progress with the book."

"Nothing good," Bruce admitted. "The spells we found today won't do anything to Nobodies, and the only one we've found that does would overload their brains. And since they're your friends, that's not exactly a good option."

"Uh, no, it is not," Vanitas agreed. "How many spells are left?"

"Maybe twelve or thirteen," Tony admitted. "We're running out of options to help them. We might not have..."

"I can't accept that," Vanitas interrupted. "I've lost too much already. I can't..."

He trailed off as he looked down in sadness. Tony and Bruce nodded their heads at each other, understanding his sorrow after spending so much time together. They didn't want him to have to experience any more sorrow involving than he already had.

"We'll keep looking," Tony assured him. "It might not be easy, but we'll keep looking."

Vanitas then gripped his head in pain as a vision started. He saw Saïx chatting with Axel about how the imposter had been sighted at Castle Oblivion, which Roxas overheard. Roxas volunteered to go, which Saïx agreed to when Axel said he'd tag along. The two nodded their heads at each other and prepared to go. Vanitas was a little proud when he saw that Saïx was limping a bit as he walked away from the two before the vision ended.

He then gasped as he looked back up at his friends.

"Damn the wonky way the time between worlds works," Vanitas announced.

It had been maybe two months since the incident in DC, but it seemed like much more time had passed due to how the time between worlds actually worked. As mentioned before, once he finished a mission and ice cream time with Roxas, he downed a sleeping potion and rested for a few hours before being woken by a vision announcing the next mission. Much more time had passed for Roxas than Vanitas, and Vanitas was starting to wish for that damn day off at the beach.

Vanitas slipped his Vortex Manipulator back on and teleported outside the front doors of Castle Oblivion around the same time Axel and Roxas walked through the dark corridor. They nodded their heads at each other and pushed open the front doors. Axel and Vanitas closed them behind them as Roxas walked into the entrance hall.

"So, this is Castle Oblivion..." Roxas said in thought.

"Yeah, it's pretty bland," Vanitas admitted as they started walking along the hallway.

Roxas looked around as they walked before he stopped and gripped his head in pain.

"Roxas!?" Axel asked in concern.

"What's wrong!?" Vanitas asked in equal concern.

"My..." Roxas winced out, as Vanitas had a vision of Ventus doing the same thing. "My head!"

He gripped it with both hands as he tried to keep walking forwards. Vanitas and Axel ran to him and reached for his shoulders in concern.

"Easy, man!" Axel informed him. "Let's retreat for now and..."

"I'm fine!" Roxas denied as he kept trying to press on. "We have to... find Xion..."

He collapsed onto his knees, giving Vanitas more flashbacks to Ventus.

"Wh...what's happening?" Roxas asked, still gripping his head in pain.

"Roxas!" Axel exclaimed as he and Vanitas ran up to him and leaned down to place hands on him in concern.

The blonde looked up slightly, still in pain.

"So much...rushing into..." Roxas started to say, still gripping his head. Vanitas then saw much more involving him and his three friends in the past, before he finally realized that Roxas was seeing some of this as well. "...my head..."

Axel helped Roxas to his feet, holding onto the blonde in a reassuring way.

"Let's get out of here for now!" Axel announced.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Vanitas agreed, pressing the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator, knowing where Axel would be going.

"No, wait..." Roxas denied as Axel summoned a dark corridor. "There's...something...I can...almost..."

As the two Organization members walked through the dark corridor, Vanitas's eyes widened slightly at Roxas's words and apparent visions. Did Roxas now know where to find Ventus in this place? Vanitas certainly hoped so, because he honestly didn't know where anymore due to his amnesia. Damn this crazy castle.

Vanitas brushed aside those thoughts as he pressed the button on his Vortex Manipulator to appear in the Twilight Town back alley with Roxas and Axel. Axel had laid Roxas down on the ground, and the two friends looked down at their other friend in worry.

 _Giving up already?_ Vanitas heard Riku's voice in Roxas's head. _I thought you were stronger than that._

"Riku!" Roxas exclaimed as he stood up, confusing Vanitas.

The blonde sat up and breathed in and out as he looked down.

"Are you all right?" Axel asked in worry.

"What...happened to me?" Roxas asked.

"We don't really know," Vanitas admitted.

"You collapsed just as you entered the castle doors," Axel explained. "Don't you remember?"

"I only remember going inside," Roxas told them.

"You said things were rushing into your head," Vanitas told him. "You don't remember any of that."

"Nothing," Roxas admitted, shaking his head.

Okay, there goes any hope he had of Roxas helping Vanitas find Ventus.

"Just take it easy for now," Axel told Roxas as he stood up.

"I'm fine," Roxas insisted. "Let's go back to Castle Oblivion."

"Don't push yourself, man," Axel insisted, running a hand over the back of his head.

"We've all got our limits," Vanitas added.

Vanitas and Axel then realized that they weren't alone in the alley.

"Who's there?" the two called out, seeing two people in Organization coats in front of the gate to that "Usual Spot." Based off of their builds, Vanitas could tell that it was Xion and Riku.

"Xion?" Roxas asked, looking right at her.

Xion looked down and turned away from the blonde as a dark corridor appeared behind her and Riku. She started walking towards it.

"Xion, wait!" Roxas begged.

He started to run forwards, but then Riku walked in front of the corridor and faced Roxas, stopping him long enough for Xion to go through the portal and for it to close behind her.

"I told you," Vanitas announced as Roxas looked at Riku with anger in his eyes. "The next time we'd meet, we'd be enemies."

"Out of the way!" Roxas snapped at the cloaked man.

Riku turned and pretty patiently walked away from them.

"Hey!" Roxas called out.

"Get back here!" Vanitas added as he and Roxas started running after Riku.

"Roxas, V, wait!" Axel called after them.

They ran after Riku through the underground concourse, with none of them understanding how Riku managed to walk faster than they could run. They eventually ran through the underground chamber and ran down the pathway to try to reach Riku, but just as they reached the level, Riku had already disappeared through a dark corridor.

"Damn it!" Vanitas exclaimed.

He and Roxas stopped in front of the closed gate and breathed in and out as Axel caught up to them and stood next to them, also breathing in and out.

"I thought the imposter was sighted in Castle Oblivion!" Axel announced.

"Xion..." Roxas whispered in thought.

"No way that was Xion!" Axel announced.

"The one who ran away first was Xion," Roxas insisted. "But...why run?"

Vanitas placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in sympathy as he continued to look down in sadness.

They eventually moved on and went back to the clock tower with their ice cream. They sat in their usual spots and ate their bars as they looked out at the sunset together. Today, as per usual as of late, there was a pretty somber mood as they ate their sweets.

"Why would she do that?" Roxas asked.

"At least we know she's safe," Axel said. "She'll come home when she's ready."

"You really think so?" Vanitas asked. "Because I've listened to how rough they are in that castle from you guys. I don't think your bosses are gonna allow the same sympathy towards her as we are."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "Won't they turn her into a Dusk?"

"Not necessarily," Axel informed them.

"Who was that guy she was with?" Roxas asked. "Why is she cooperating with him?"

"V, you declared that you and him were enemies?" Axel asked.

"He was an ally of mine," Vanitas admitted. "But we had different agreements, so we fought. Bastard was the one that burned out my SHIELD jacket. He, uh... is pretty determined to take out all Nobodies, including you guys. We had a bit of a fallout."

"That's never good," Roxas commented.

"No," Vanitas agreed. "Especially when the person you're having a fallout with can blast the shit out of you with darkness."

The three of them sighed out as they looked back at the sunset.

 _But clearly he doesn't want to lose himself to help Sora, so he won't just outright murder_ them, Vanitas thought. _He wants to do the right thing, at least. But... if we don't find another way, then the right way is..._

He didn't want to think about it. There had to be another way. There just _had_ to.

Vanitas teleported back to Avengers Tower and downed a potion for what could pretty much be qualified as a nap at this point. It seems the sleeping potion was losing its potency, because he only slept for three or four hours before he was awoken by a vision alerting him to his next mission with Roxas.

Case in point, he was currently having a vision involving Roxas, Axel and Saïx. Saïx announced to them that Xion had betrayed the Organization, which Roxas denied in anger. Saïx just brushed it off and informed Roxas his mission today was to take him out in Twilight Town. He then told Axel that he had to get Xion, possibly gagged or tied up, and that if she denied, he could apply more _permanent_ solutions.

Screw his ankle, the next time Vanitas saw this guy, he'd be stomping on his head.

Axel assured Roxas that it wouldn't come to that, and that he'd "think of something clever once he found her." Vanitas almost wished he could go with Axel so he could see how he was gonna goof up.

Once Vanitas woke up, he teleported to Twilight Town with Roxas and went through the Sandlot, stopping in the Tram Common in thought.

"I know that was Xion we saw yesterday," Roxas insisted.

"Dude, I believe you," Vanitas assured him. "But what she's doing with that dumb-ass, I have no idea."

"Who was he, anyway?" Roxas asked. "You said you used to be allies, but you disagreed and that led to your fallout. And he's clearly not ready to help us. Why didn't she try to get away?"

"I don't know," Vanitas admitted, shaking his head.

Feeling something different, the two of them looked up onto one of the taller points of Tram Common to see someone hooded in an Organization Cloak that they couldn't recognize looking down at them.

"Huh?" Roxas asked. "Hey!"

The figure turned and started running away from them.

"Wait!" Roxas yelled in anger.

"Motherfucker..." Vanitas growled, pulling out a .44 Magnum Colt Python and rotating the chamber.

The two of them chased the person in the cloak all around Tram Common, with Vanitas doing a little bit of gunfire to try to slow them down. Whoever they were, gunfire affected them about as much as it did most of the people they had met in other worlds, so far.

They managed to catch up to the person in the cloak in a small, square shaped blank area in the town. The two partners ran down the steps and stared at the person with their back to them with anger on their faces. Vanitas kept his revolver raised just in case as the person raised their hand up to their hood. The person quickly brushed the hood off and faced them, revealing them to be...

"Xion," Roxas breathed out at the sight of the raven haired girl in front of them.

"Oh, sorry," Vanitas said, un-cocking his revolver and sliding it between the strap around his waist.

"Where have you been?" Roxas asked as they walked up to face her. "Axel and us have been looking all over for you."

"You have?" Xion asked softly before looking down. "Sorry."

"Let's go home," Roxas begged of her. "If you come back voluntarily, Saïx will let all this drop. He has to."

Xion looked down sadly while Roxas smiled reassuringly at her.

"I don't care what he said to you," he announced.

"It doesn't really matter what that idiot thinks," Vanitas added, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'll be there," Roxas assured Xion. "Me and Axel will make sure..."

He started to reach out for her as he spoke, and she stepped back away from him, confusing both the boys.

"I really can't," Xion informed them, raising a hand up to her chest as she looked down while shaking her head.

"Why not?" Roxas asked. "Come on..."

He reached out for her and once again she stepped back.

 _Oh, their future relationship can't end before it even starts_ , Vanitas thought with as much desperation as there was in Roxas's voice.

Roxas lowered his arm as he stared at her and she kept looking down. After a second, Xion looked to the side and started to run.

"Wait!" Roxas called out, grabbing her right arm with his own, causing her to freeze in her place.

 _You know what love is,_ _man_ , Vanitas thought. _Tell her you love her, man. Then we'll get the fuck out of here and-_

He was cut off from his thoughts and Roxas's eyes widened in surprise as Xion summoned her Keyblade in her free hand. Roxas let go of Xion's right hand and she took it back before turning towards Roxas. She raised her Keyblade up and pointed it right at Roxas, looking at him in the corner of her eye, making the intention obvious.

"That's..." Vanitas whispered. "A little much..."

Their attentions were all drawn to the nearby staircase, where the sound of something flying through the air was coming from. Xion raised her Keyblade up to her head in defense, and one of Axel's chakrams deflected off of it before it ended up falling to be stabbed in the ground, where it disappeared in a flame. The trio looked towards the stairs in surprise to see Axel walking down them with a weird look in his eyes.

"Well, hello there..." Axel called out. "Xion."

"Axel?" Roxas asked in surprise.

"What the fuck, man?" Vanitas asked.

Xion immediately started running at the redhead.

"No, wait!" Roxas called out to them.

Roxas and Vanitas could only watch in shock as their two friends fought. Xion got in close and swung her Keyblade at Axel's head, which he ducked under. Summoning a chakram to his left hand, he swung at Xion, which she dodged by jumping back. She rushed forwards again and attacked twice, which Axel intercepted before jumping away from her further into the small area. He threw his chakrams at her, which deflected off of her Keyblade before flying back into her hands. Xion landed on the ground and started running towards Axel with her Keyblade ready.

"Stop!" Roxas yelled, almost desperately.

Xion did exactly that and looked back at Roxas with what Vanitas could recognize as sorrow and guilt. But then Axel somehow appeared behind her and did a knife-hand strike with the back of his hand into the back of her neck. She lost consciousness, but Axel caught her before she could hit the ground with her Keyblade, which disappeared in light.

"Xion..." Roxas called out.

"What the fuck, man?" Vanitas asked.

The two started running towards Axel as he placed Xion over his shoulder. He spared one ashamed look at his friends before letting darkness surround him in teleportation. The two looked at where Axel stood in disbelief for a few seconds before anger took over Roxas. He summoned a dark corridor and didn't spare another word to Vanitas as he walked through in silent anger.

"Maybe his nickname should be Anger Management Issues," Vanitas muttered before teleporting back to Avengers Tower.

He gripped his head as he saw Roxas arrive back in the Grey meeting Area in a vision.

"Axel!" Roxas yelled, anger on his face.

He ran across the room, seeing the man he was looking for with his back to him. The redhead turned and faced Roxas, who stopped in front of him.

"Oh, hey, Roxas," Axel greeted, trying to keep things light.

"Where is she?" Roxas demanded.

"Safe," Axel assured him.

Roxas shook his head.

"How could you do that to her?" he demanded, angrily.

"Do what?" Axel asked, softly, knowing exactly what Roxas was talking about.

"You didn't have to use force," Roxas said, looking down.

"Didn't I?" Axel asked.

Roxas shook his head and looked forwards, not wanting to face Axel.

"No... of course not!" he insisted. "We're supposed to be best friends."

"This isn't about friendship," Axel informed him.

Roxas finally got the courage to look up at Axel, expecting him to explain. The redhead just scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"If that's all, I gotta go," Axel informed him.

He turned and walked away, leaving Roxas even angrier.

 _If that's all!?_ Roxas thought, certainly pissed.

"Yep," Vanitas muttered as the vision ended. "Definitely Anger Management Issues."

He walked across the helipad of Avengers Tower, knowing that this was a better option to follow JARVIS's rules than just teleporting directly in the building. The whole time, Vanitas couldn't help but wonder:

_What's to become of us now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this serve as the climax, or is it another moment earlier or later in the game?


	25. Sora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas learns about Sora before going on some missions with Vanitas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, for a lot of these missions during the timeline, they just brushed over a lot of the battles between Lesser Heartless and Boss Heartless, so I do that in these chapters. I only go into explicit detail during the main fights Vanitas is included in with his friends, or the ones he ends up having to just watch. The latter is a thing that'll happen near the end

As to be expected, the visions Vanitas had during his sleep were nothing short of unpleasant. The first thing he saw was a mini-meeting between Saïx and Axel, in one of the pathways up through the castle.

"You're sure things are better this way?" Axel asked.

"I never expected you to question it," Saïx informed him. "If you could save one of them... why would you choose the puppet?"

Axel frowned and looked down a bit, but didn't answer.

"Or put it this way," Saïx continued. "Which would you rather suffer the loss of: some make-believe friendship, or a real one?"

Axel looked down and to the side with the frown still on his face.

"Things are finally right again," Saïx informed him, walking past him across the balcony like area they were on. "Of course we're better off this way. Xemnas is exasperated from all the 'fixing' we've had to do."

He looked over his shoulder at Axel.

"We have to set things right," Saïx continued. "There is simply too much on the line... Lea."

Axel looked down at the floor with his eyes closed before walking away from Saïx. The vision shifted to show Roxas trying to see if anyone had seen Xion, asking both Xaldin and Luxord to no avail. Luxord informed that Roxas that he "wasn't aware she had returned," with the usual sarcasm, which actually managed to make Vanitas laugh. Roxas wallowed in sorrow for a second in thought, wondering if there was anybody who knew, before he put together that maybe "he" knew.

Knowing who "he" possibly could be, Vanitas wasn't surprised at all when the vision shifted to show Roxas appearing in the Round Room, looking up at Xemnas in his much taller throne.

"I need to know..." Roxas announced.

"About what?" Xemnas demanded in what looked like hidden rage.

"Xion," Roxas insisted. "Tell me what happened to her."

"Xion is a valued member of the Organization," Xemnas informed him. "But she needs her rest. So worry not."

Somehow, Xemnas's words gave Roxas a flashback to that day they met on the dark beach, which Vanitas remembered seeing before they found Pluto in that grassy field. The two had finished their conversation, but as Xemnas was walking past Roxas with his hand on the blonde's shoulder, he whispered, "Sora."

"...Sora," Roxas whispered to himself in the Round Room, causing Xemnas to smirk. "Who is Sora?"

"The connection," Xemnas answered, smile on his face.

"Connection?" Roxas asked.

"He is what makes you and Xion a part of each others lives," Xemnas answered. "And the reason I placed Xion among our number. If you want her to stay that way, I must insist you you get your mind off these needless distractions. I will have Xion return to her duties tomorrow. Today, you must focus on yours."

"Understood," Roxas informed him with a nod of the head.

The vision shifted so Roxas had left the room and was walking through the castle stairs, where he ran into Axel. The redhead tried to make peace with the blonde, but he shrugged it off and kept walking.

That's when Vanitas gasped awake.

"Seems like Axel keeps getting the short end of every fuse that's handed to him," he muttered.

Vanitas moved on to get ready for today's mission with Roxas, which ended up being simple heart collection in Neverland. They went back to that world the next day, walking out onto a big rock during the night, with Hook's pirate ship nearby.

"There's that ship..." Roxas announced in thought.

"Now you can see what the inside of a pirate ship looks like," Vanitas informed his friend, patting him on the shoulder with a slight smile.

"Caught you!" a familiar nearby voice announced.

"And there's those guys," Roxas said, looking across the giant rock they were on to see Hook and Smee standing together looking down at something in the latter's hands.

"I've finally clipped your pestering little wings, eh, Tinker Bell?" Hook asked the writhing bag in Smee's hands. "Serves you right for buzzing about in me business! Planning to interfere with me treasure hunt, were you? Well, change of plans! Smee! We're returning to the ship."

"I'm right behind ya, Captain!" Smee announced. He looked down at the band in his hands. "There there, now, Miss Bell. Be a good little pixie for us, won't you?"

The two started walking across the walk to the plank connected to their ship, with Roxas and Vanitas watching.

"Tinker Bell?" Roxas asked. He looked at Vanitas. "I remember, you said that was her name." His eyes widened in realization. "They caught her!?"

"We got to help her!" Vanitas announced.

Roxas nodded his head but then looked to the side in thought.

"But..." he started to say. "She doesn't have anything to do with the mission... So what. Let's move."

"That's my boy!" Vanitas yelled in excitement. "Finally, being a bad influence is actually doing something!

"She helped us fly before," Roxas continued. "And all we did was just keep blowing her off. We can worry about today's mission once we know she's safe."

The two nodded their heads in confirmation and started following Hook and Smee. They went across the plank to the boat and climbed up onto the second level. They walked up to the door Vanitas instructed led to the Captain's stateroom, but stopped from entering at the sound of Hook's voice.

"Confound this useless map!" the pirate's voice yelled.

"But Captain, are ya sure ya want to tear it up like that?" Smee asked.

"Aye, we checked this one the other day," Hook informed him. "It's worthless!"

"If you say so, sir," Smee commented.

"Set a course, Mr. Smee!" Hook announced. "Take us to the next treasure spot!"

"A-aye, aye, Captain..." Smee said with some uncertainty.

"Sounds like they're inside," Roxas announced.

"I'm like eighty-one percent sure those two have angry sex between their treasure finding excursions," Vanitas announced. "Maybe if we shine a blacklight around that room, it'd look like a damn mess."

"B-but, sir... do you really think it's worth the trouble?" Smee asked the captain. "We've done a good bit of digging already, and all we've found is pieces of junk and them Heartless creatures..."

"Stop whining, Smee, and think!" Hook demanded. "Why were there so many maps? I'll tell you why. Whoever buried the treasure made fake maps to lead me astray and protect the real hiding spot!"

"Oh!" Smee said in realization. "Then one of these maps is sure to be the real one, right?"

"Aye, and the only way to know which it is is to follow them all!" Hook agreed. "The Heartless must have been planted at the marked spots as guard dogs."

Vanitas then felt the same feeling originating from the room that he had when they met Alexander Pierce in his office. He had put together that when that happened, he was sensing a great amount of darkness originating from the man. The same thing was happening now, he was sensing darkness originating from Hook.

"Well, no one outwits Captain Hook," the pirate announced as Vanitas sensed the darkness. "That treasure is mine; mine, mine, mine! Now, get a move on, Smee!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Smee announced.

Footsteps started loudly originating through the room, and Roxas and Vanitas quickly put together that the pirates were moving towards the door.

"This way," Roxas suggested.

They ran down the side of the ship and hid behind some big boxes on the same wall as the door. The two watched as the door opened at the two pirates walked out.

"Oh!" Smee remarked. "But what about Tinker Bell?"

"Hmph," Hook simply said. "Let her get acquainted with her new home: that lamp. Look lively, Mr. Smee!"

The two walked down the ship in front of the door, eventually going down the stairs and out of sight.

"Coast is clear," Vanitas announced.

The two entered the stateroom and looked around, quickly taking notice of the lamp with Tinker Bell inside on the table.

"Why do they keep stuffing you in that lamp?" Vanitas asked. "Don't they realize we manage to get you out pretty much every time?"

"Just a minute," Roxas assured her. "We'll get you out of there."

Roxas opened the gate, and the pixie immediately flew up into the air above the boys.

"I'm glad you're okay," Roxas told her.

"Good to see you're okay," Vanitas added.

"You can take care of yourself from here, right?" Roxas asked. "We should get going."

The two started walking towards the door, but then Tinker Bell floated down in front of them.

"Huh?" Roxas asked in confusion. "Is there something else?"

The two followed her with their eyes as she flew over to the table and gestured to a ripped piece of paper on it. They walked over to get a better look at it.

"This must be a piece of that map they were talking about," Vanitas assessed.

"He really shredded it," Roxas commented.

The two of them looked at Tinker Bell, who gestured with her hands while trying to talk to them.

"Um..." Roxas said with uncertainty. "Sorry, but we don't know what you're trying to tell us."

She then gestured with her arms in a frustrated manner, before Roxas looked more closely at the bit of map.

"There's a spot marked on this map piece," he announced. "Wait... Everywhere they dug, Heartless popped out."

"And they've been digging based on these maps..." Vanitas added, going along the same line of thought as his friend.

"Maybe we'll find more Heartless if we check these spots," Roxas finished. He looked up at Tinker Bell. "Hey, could you help us fly again? We need to go look at the spot marked on this map."

She flew in circles around the two boys, and pixie dust fell onto them, signaling that they could do it now.

"Thanks," Roxas told her. "We should really get back to our mission now. Be careful those guys don't nab you again, okay?"

Tinker Bell nodded her head, and Vanitas gave her a thumbs-up in affirmation. Piecing together the map fragments they found in the cabin, the two were able to figure out where the marked spot in the area was. They flew across the water outside the ship towards one of the taller bits of rock to find a hole on top with a wooden box inside.

"This is one of the wooden chests they keep digging up," Roxas assessed with his Keyblade in his hand as they looked down at the chest in the ground. "Let's see what kind of Heartless pop up. Maybe it's the one we're after!"

"Stay prepared," Vanitas warned his friend, fire axe in his hands in preparation.

Roxas tapped the box with his Keyblade and the lid slowly opened for them, and Roxas and Vanitas cocked their heads to the side in confusion.

"Huh?" Roxas asked. "Nothing..." He dismissed his Keyblade. "Are they not connected? But then why do Heartless always appear when they dig up the chests?"

"Wait," Vanitas said, snapping his fingers as he searched his memories. "Hook. Remember what I said... There's a lot of darkness in him, and that can manifest into Heartless. What if... someone placed the boxes with seeds for Heartless, and all they needed was some of Hook's darkness for them to materialize?"

"That makes sense," Roxas said. "It explains why Heartless only pop up around them. But who the hell would go through so much trouble to get a bunch of Heartless around?"

"We'll worry about that later," Vanitas said. "Now, we gotta find Hook and Smee."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "Find them, and maybe we'll find our Heartless."

They flew across the water towards the large rock they originally appeared on, with Hook and Smee hard at work digging another hole.

"Keep digging, Mr. Smee!" Hook instructed him.

"Aye, sir," Smee confirmed.

The man kept digging until darkness appeared around Hook, and a giant purple dragon like Heartless appeared in the air above them. Roxas and Vanitas jumped slightly at the sudden appearance of the Heartless.

"What!?" Hook exclaimed. "Another Heartless?"

"Wh-what do we do, Captain?" Smee asked.

"This one looks formidable," Hook exclaimed. "Run, Smee!"

"Running, sir!" Smee announced.

The two ran towards their ship and over the plank to get on board. That left Vanitas and Roxas free to take on the purple dragon.

The battle didn't take long, but there were complications with the dragon's tendency to teleport a few feet away every once in a while. It sending out the usual orbs of energy in an attack every once in a while didn't make things any better. Eventually, Roxas with his Keyblade and Vanitas with his axe managed to take out the dragon, with only a few bruises to their names. With the boss defeated, they floated down back onto the ground near the dark corridor.

"You were right," Roxas said. "He must be what's drawing all these Heartless. Whatever's in those chests brings out Heartless when that guy, Hook, opens them. But really, why would someone do something like this?"

"That's probably a question for another day," Vanitas admitted.

The two travelled to the clock tower through their separate means and sat in their usual spots just staring out at the sunset, pretty blankly. They didn't even have ice cream with them, because it didn't feel like a good time.

"V..." Roxas started to say. "Who's Sora?"

Vanitas wasn't at all surprised by the question. He was more surprised that it had taken his friend this long to ask that question, more than anything.

"He's my friend," Vanitas admitted. "He was the one we were talking about back on Earth 616 who had the Keyblade. If it wasn't for him... I'd be a lot more brutal than I am now, and probably would have done more than a few things I'd end up regretting."

Roxas took in that information with a slight nod of the head.

"You've seen him in dreams, haven't you?" Vanitas asked.

"Yeah," Roxas answered, quickly putting together that the Guy in Red in his dreams that was with Vanitas had to be Sora. "He looks a lot like you."

"Yeah, he does," Vanitas admitted.

Roxas paused for a second. "Is he..."

"No, he's not my brother," Vanitas told him.

The conversation pretty much stopped right then and there. The two just continued looking out at the sunset, even as Axel and Xion appeared and sat in their usual spots as well. No one tried to talk or even produce an ice cream. Everyone just stared out at the sunset, not even trying to do anything else.

There was no doubt in their minds that things were different, and in this case, it was for the worse.

* * *

Before the mission the next day, Vanitas ended up having a vision involving the other group of people that were trying to do the right thing but weren't doing it in a completely ethical way. Naminé stood in the pod room, looking up at the one Sora was sleeping in.

"Oh no..." she announced.

"What has happened?" DiZ asked, walking up to stand next to her.

"Sora's memory..." Naminé said in worry. "I'm afraid has stopped."

"What does that mean?" DiZ asked.

"Unless something is done, he'll never wake from his slumber," Naminé announced.

"The gloves must come off, then," DiZ announced.

"But..." Naminé said in worry.

"Nobodies never should have existed..." DiZ reminded her. "...as I'm sure you understand, Naminé."

"Yes..." Naminé reluctantly agreed, looking down in sadness.

Vanitas gasped awake as the vision ended.

"Oh, poor Naminé..." he said in thought, concerned for the girl. "Well, I guess that guy's... better... than Marluxia?"

He blinked.

"I'm reassuring no one again," Vanitas realized.

The mission with Roxas today was once again in Neverland. They appeared on the world through their own means on a rock in viewing distance of Skull Rock, and a large, wider rock far in front of them.

"That's probably where we have to go," Vanitas assessed.

"Doesn't look like we'll be able to cross without flying, though," Roxas pointed out.

The two looked to the side to see Tinker Bell fly up into eye level with them.

"Hey, perfect timing!" Roxas greeted.

The fairy flew around them, dispersing dust around them. They floated slightly up into the air, and looked up at her.

"Thanks, Tink," Vanitas told her.

Tinker Bell floated back down to eye level and gestured to the large rock in the water Vanitas mentioned far in the distance.

"You want us to go over there?" Roxas asked. "Let me guess: Hook and Smee?"

Tinker Bell turned away and started flying over to the rock in leading.

"I guess we can take that as a yes," Vanitas remarked.

They flew up into the air and looked down at the rock below them, where Hook and Smee were at work, with Smee digging in a hole as per usual at this point.

"Those two are still at it?" Roxas asked.

"Hook just doesn't learn," Vanitas admitted.

They looked down at the pirate captain who stood over the man digging the hole. Knowing they couldn't hear too well, Vanitas slipped his bug out of the docket and launched it out. The bug flew down near the two pirates, and the two watched from Vanitas's smartphone as the camera on the bug projected their image onto the screen.

"Well, Mr. Smee?" Hook asked. "This is the last spot. Me treasure _must_ be here."

"I'll have it uncovered in a jiffy, sir!" Smee announced.

The man dug in the hole for a few seconds before his shovel struck something. He looked down and jumped in surprise and ran up the hole to see the Captain. Even though, from Vanitas's viewpoint, it was pretty clear that the hook-handed man should have been able to see into the hole with the man.

"Captain!" Smee exclaimed. "Captain! I found it!"

"What?" Hook asked. "Let me see!"

They looked down in the hole to see a treasure chest with a skull attached to the stop and a golden sword underneath it.

"Good work, Smee!" Hook praised. "Oh, the lengths I've gone to find this treasure! It must be priceless!"

The two floating boys looked down as darkness flew out of Hook and into the chest. Dark energy suddenly started surrounding the chest, and light flared in the eyes of the skull.

"C-C-Captain?" Smee asked Hook in worry.

"What is it now, Smee?" Hook asked a little roughly.

"The treasure ch-chest, sir!" Smee announced, looking down at the chest. "It's..."

"What!?" Hook asked in confusion as he looked at the chest with Smee.

Vanitas could tell things were about to take a dark turn as darkness surrounded the chest even more. He quickly had the bug return to his docket just as the chest exploded with dark energy. It transformed into a big Heartless called Ruler of the Sky and floated up into the air. Roxas and Vanitas's eyes widened at the sight of this Heartless.

The two allies barely registered Hook and Smee running as they floated down to the big rock they were on before. They watched as the Ruler of the Sky flew in an arc around the sky, and lunged at them. Roxas and Vanitas landed on the ground to dodge the attack. Roxas summoned his Keyblade and Vanitas pulled out another Beretta in preparation.

"So it's you guys what's been goin' around takin' out my Heartless!" a familiar, goofy sounding voice behind them assessed.

The two friends turned to see Pete standing there, looking pretty man.

"Huh?" Roxas asked. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I knew it!" Vanitas exclaimed. "You're trying to build an army of Heartless. Hell, you're the one who helped Pierce, weren't you?"

Roxas's eyes widened in realization.

"You were the one who planted the boxes in the ground for Hook to find and make more Heartless, weren't you?" he asked. "You're trying to keep building that army after we stopped Pierce and the helicarriers."

"Listen pals, nobody messes with Pete's private army and gets away with it; including you two!" Pete announced. "You already screwed the plan with Pierce and the helicarriers, and my new plan with the pirate captain. Now, my new giant Heartless is gonna pluck you clean outta the sky! Let's see how you like that!"

The two friends flew up into the air to face off against the Ruler of the Sky. This Heartless was a big boy. They had to first destroy the skulls and point that served as its tail, then they had to attack its weak spot in the center of its chest, all while dodging attacks of water spikes rising high into the air, the chest mouth shooting out gold doubloons like bullets, and the bone like wings separating from the body and attacking like claws. After a lot of fighting, during which Roxas used his Limit Break more than once and Vanitas had to switch out with a Benelli shotgun, they managed to take down the Ruler of the Sky, which flew into Hook's ship.

The giant Heartless crashed into the center, knocking down the masts as it disappeared into a cloud of white gas that released its crystal like heart up into the air. Vanitas was able to briefly see Tinker Bell laughing at Hook and Smee's misfortune before he and Roxas floated back down to the rock they encountered Pete on. The two held their weapons in preparation as they stared at the giant cat.

"Nngh, dag-nabbit!" Pete exclaimed. "I'll get you's for this!" 

He turned away from the two and disappeared once they blinked. Roxas and Vanitas got out of their fighting stances and stared at where Pete used to be.

"Private army, huh?" Roxas asked. "What does he want an army of Heartless for? He seems a little dumb to be able to control it."

"Yeah, but I guess he was one of Maleficent's lackeys with Pierce," Vanitas informed him. "The army wasn't for him."

"It was for Maleficent and Pierce," Roxas assessed. He looked at Vanitas with an eyebrow cocked. "But you said Maleficent was gone. I'm guessing Pete's a little late to the party."

"Yeah, no shit," Vanitas chuckled. "His invitation must have arrived late, 'cause he clearly didn't get the memo."

The two laughed at Pete's idiotic ways and lateness a bit more before they went to the clock tower. Today they actually managed to eat ice cream, but still stayed silent as they stared out at the sunset. Throughout it all, though, Vanitas was still worried about how things were gonna turn out with his friends. They were almost out of options with the spell book, and DiZ and Riku had already made it clear what their intentions were, even if Riku was more reluctant to do it.

If they didn't figure out a way out of this situation, then they wouldn't be able to eat ice cream here again... maybe ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the end of the era of Days with Hook and Smee. I'm a little sad to see them go, because we never really return to this world after this game. I'm with Vanitas, and am pretty sure they were doing exactly that between their treasure finding excursions. I mean, why else would Smee actually stick with Hook for that long?


	26. Worry and Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas and Vanitas share a mission with Xion where Roxas and Xion's roles reverse a bit. Some time together, the gang gets together for one more sunset... before other things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll see what "other things" are...

Over the next few days on Earth 616, which ended up being a few weeks worth of missions with Roxas, Vanitas searched desperately through the last few memory related spells in the book, only to get no good results. The remaining spells all ran the chance of total annihilation to work. And while he was willing to go to great lengths to help his friends, annihilation was a _bit_ too much.

Vanitas sighed out in defeat as he sipped at his morning cran-cherry juice. Tony and Bruce shared a look before looking at the upset ravenette.

"V," Tony announced. "We hate to be the one to tell you..."

"Don't say it," Vanitas insisted. "Please..."

"V," Bruce said. "We're out of options. The only way that appears to be the best way to help Sora, is..."

"I know," Vanitas said, staring down at his morning waffles. "It's just... *sighs* If I knew it was gonna come to this, then I wouldn't have tried to make friends with them in the first place. But..."

"If you didn't, then you would never have found the truth without maybe getting yourself killed," Tony remarked.

"And you never would have gotten such great friends," Bruce added.

"Exactly," Vanitas agreed. "But... God, I wish there was some way to fix all this so that the three of them could be safe and alive."

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "It'd have been sweet to have three Keyblade wielders instead of just one."

"Very," Vanitas agreed. "Guess we're just not gonna be getting that any time soon."

He gripped his head as the usual vision came along. Roxas and Xion were paired together today in Agrabah. That was both a team and a place that he hadn't seen in quite a while now. Like he was gonna miss that.

Vanitas chugged down the rest of his cup of juice and grabbed his Vortex Manipulator off the counter. He nodded at Tony and Bruce before disappearing in the usual flash of light. He reappeared outside the palace walls of Agrabah around the same time Roxas and Xion walked through the dark corridor.

"Hey," Vanitas greeted. "Nice to see you on your feet, Xion."

"Thanks," Xion nodded her head before walking forwards a bit.

Vanitas looked at Roxas, who was in turn looking down in thought. Xion stopped and turned to look at the blonde as well as he summoned his Keyblade and looked down at it in his hand.

"What's wrong?" Xion asked.

"Everything all right?" Vanitas asked.

"Nothing's wrong," Roxas told them in thought.

"You look pale..." Xion remarked.

Roxas dismissed his Keyblade and looked up at her.

"You're imagining things," he assured her. "Let's go."

"If you're sure," Vanitas said.

"...Okay," Xion relented.

They made their way through the city into the Cave of Wonders. Once again, Vanitas was pretty sure the way the Cave worked was pretty wonky, because they ended up taking a completely different route than the one he took last time and ended up in the large, circular area that he and Sora had fought Jafar in. They went up onto the center place across from the entrance and looked up at the keyhole shaped mark in the wall, that the Keyhole originally was last time. The trio stopped in front of the wall and looked up at it.

"End of the line," Roxas announced.

Xion walked up to the wall with her eyes wide a bit.

"I remember this..." she whispered.

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

Vanitas narrowed his eyes at the girl, wondering exactly how much she remembered from Sora's memories.

"It's a keyhole," Xion informed them. "See?"

Her eyes widened even more and she gripped her head as she fell onto one knee. Vanitas could see in his head that she was having a flashback to when Sora had closed the Keyhole, sealing off this world from the Heartless... at least, back then.

Roxas leaned down and placed a hand on her shoulder in concern.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," Xion said as she kept a hand on her head.

She looked up at Roxas, and the way the two of them stared into each others eyes made Vanitas feel like he was third-wheeling. Knowing they probably wouldn't do anything, he wished his telekinesis could act up so he could make them kiss on his own.

"You look so much like him," Xion whispered in realization.

"...What?" Roxas asked.

Normally, that would be a bad thing to say in this kind of situation, but since they didn't know too much about romance themselves, Vanitas figured they'd be fine. As they continued staring into each others eyes, Vanitas was sure he saw their heads start to lean closer together. He pulled out his smartphone, not wanting to miss it...

Then a crashing from the center of the room garnered the attentions of all three of them.

The Heartless they were after, a blue and grey color schemed version of the spinning top like Heartless, had slammed onto the ground and was facing them.

"Never knew Heartless were the leading manufacturers of blue balls," Vanitas muttered to himself as he took out his AK-47 with the bayonet knife attached.

Vanitas fired his rifle at the spinning Heartless as Roxas and Xion chased after it with their Keyblades drawn. Once the Heartless stopped, they had enough time to get in some combo attacks before it started jumping up to do a ground pound attack, or continued with the spinning attack. Eventually, while chasing the Heartless, Roxas got pretty winded and leaned down to place his hands on his knees as he breathed in and out. Vanitas ran to help his friend while Xion did a wicked looking lunging spin attack to take out the large Heartless.

Back on her feet, Xion turned to look at where the Heartless was with amazement in her eyes.

"H-how..." she said in thought. She looked at her Keyblade in her hand. "How did I just do that? Where did that power come from?"

"Worry about that later," Vanitas announced as she dismissed her Keyblade.

Xion turned towards them, and her eyes widened when she saw Roxas panting with his hands on his knees.

"Roxas?" she asked.

Vanitas pulled out a Potion while Xion ran over to them and put her hand on Roxas's shoulder in worry.

"Hey, are you all right?" Xion asked.

"Here, drink this," Vanitas said, uncorking the top and handing the vial to the blonde.

Roxas took it with his free hand and downed it pretty quickly. Energy ran through him once again, and he stood up straighter, his breathing becoming less rapid. Once he was sure he was okay, Roxas looked down at his Keyblade in his hand again.

"Yeah..." he told them. "Using the Keyblade these days... I don't know what's wrong with me... I just run out of steam."

"You..." Xion said. "You do?"

"That doesn't make a lot of sense," Vanitas said. "You certainly haven't been slacking on your training lately."

"You know what, never mind," Roxas told them while shaking his head. "I'm probably just overworked, heh."

Xion and Vanitas were not convinced.

"Here's hoping it's just that..." Vanitas muttered to Xion.

"You sure you're okay?" Xion asked.

Roxas dismissed his Keyblade and nodded his head.

"'Course I am," Roxas assured them. "C'mon, guys, let's get going."

As they made their way to the clock tower, Vanitas couldn't help but notice something odd. Xion appeared to be getting stronger pretty daily while Roxas appeared to be getting weaker. Normally, this wouldn't have raised any red flags if they lived normal lives. But to say they didn't normal lives was a major understatement. With everything else going on, could Xion be unconsciously drawing strength from Roxas?

Already hating the circumstances he was in at the moment, Vanitas pushed aside those thoughts and moved to his usual spot with Roxas and Xion as they stared out at the sunset. Xion looked at Roxas next to her with worry in her eyes.

"Are you really okay?" she asked him.

"This is getting weird," Roxas admitted with a chuckle.

"Huh?" Xion asked.

"Since when do you ever worry about me?" Roxas asked.

"What do you mean 'weird'?" Xion asked.

"Yeah, since always, you idiot," Vanitas informed him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I get that," Roxas admitted, before looking at Xion. "But usually, I do all the worrying over you. I don't think it's ever been the other way around before. Just feels strange, that's all."

"Roxas, of course I worry about you," Xion informed him.

"I'm just glad you're back, Xion," Roxas informed her. "Even though it might have been rough on you."

"Is Axel coming today?" Xion asked after his tone got a little defensive.

"Ah..." Roxas sighed out. "Who knows..."

"Oh, come on, man," Vanitas said in a tone of slight exasperation.

"You didn't fight, did you?" Xion asked Roxas.

"How could he?" Roxas asked with a frown instead of answering. "How could that jerk attack you like that?"

"'That jerk?'" Vanitas and Xion asked in unison and confusion.

"Do you mean Axel?" Xion asked. "But... I wouldn't be sitting here with you if Axel hadn't done that. He's your best friend."

"I know, but so are you," Roxas announced with defense in his voice.

Xion gave a slight laugh at his tone of voice, with Vanitas sparing a smirk of his own.

"It's just not the same without all four of us..." Xion informed him, trying to keep things light by keeping the smile.

He breathed out a little loudly as the three of them stared back out at the sunset. The three of them stared at it for a little while in comfortable silence before they eventually ended up having to leave to go home.

Before downing a sleeping potion and seeing whatever form of hell that'd make his live even worse, Vanitas gripped his head as the vision started prematurely. Axel was walking down a sloped platform that served as stairs.

"Axel!" Xion called out from above him.

The redhead stopped and looked over his shoulder to see Xion running down the slope and stop with him at what served as a step.

"You need something?" Axel asked.

"Well, um..." Xion started to say. "Something's wrong with Roxas. You don't know why, do you? He says the Keyblade wears him out when he goes to use it. And then today, I was fighting the same way Roxas does."

"You or V would know more about Roxas than I do by now," Axel admitted.

"What do you mean?" Xion asked.

Axel sighed out and looked down before facing her directly and crossing his arms.

"Well, what do you think, Xion?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Xion admitted, looking down.

"Not sure, huh?" Axel asked. "Is that because you're a puppet?" She gasped in surprise as she looked up at him. "You do know that. You're a replica, whose original purpose was to..."

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended, and he fell roughly against a wall, breathing in and out. He really hated it when his visions ended without even giving him a full proper view of whatever the hell was going on. All this vision did was give him another question to add on top of his current mountain of questions that need to be answered:

If Xion was a replica, a puppet, then what was she created for?

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, Vanitas continued to help Roxas on his missions out in the various worlds. Well, except for ones involving Demyx, Xigbar, and Xaldin. Sure, he wanted to go after Xaldin and shoot him a couple hundred times for ratting him out to the Organization, but he had seen how the man fought. And he had already put suicide missions just for the sake of revenge behind him.

During this time, Roxas had to search for Xaldin at Beast's Castle, where he learned the man had contacted the Beast, fight another giant spinning top like Heartless in Olympus Coliseum, and fight three wind based dragons at once at Halloween Town. He was grateful for Vanitas's assistance during that mission.

During that time, Vanitas had noticed a slight longing in his friend to spend time with Axel, so he was at least happy that from the sounds of it, Roxas had forgiven Axel for what he did.

However, Vanitas also couldn't help but notice that the battery on the Vortex Manipulator had gotten significantly low during that time. There was, maybe 12% left in the device, then it would be useless. Knowing that distance between worlds took up more percentage the farther the world was, he certainly hoped the worlds they'd go to on their next few missions weren't too far from Earth 616.

Before waking up today, Vanitas saw in his vision some pretty big discussions in the Grey Area. Roxas tried to talk to Xion, but then she moved on to do her mission. Saïx then walked up to Roxas, telling him he had an important mission for him and his Keyblade to take out a powerful Heartless in Halloween Town. Axel tried to intervene to get Roxas to not go, but Saïx told him to "Let things play out how they're supposed to," or some shit, and Roxas went to do his mission.

After a little preparation, Vanitas got ready for the day and used his Vortex Manipulator to travel to Halloween Town. He noticed lately that the battery getting lower and lower meant the actual place he appeared in the world was even more wonky than usual. The last week, he reappeared in Earth 616 in the bathroom (leaving more than a few people surprised in a bad way), and today he appeared in Halloween Town Square instead of down the Alley way with Roxas.

Looking around in confusion, Vanitas was surprised to see one of his Organization friends on the world, as well, but it wasn't the one he expected.

"Axel!" Vanitas called out, running towards the redhead. "Axel, what the hell are you doing here?"

"V!" Axel exclaimed as Vanitas stopped in front of him. "V, I'm gonna need your help. The mission here is a setup."

"What do you mean?" Vanitas asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Axel explained and Vanitas's eyes widened.

"So they both think that..." Vanitas started to say.

"Yep," Axel confirmed with a nod of the head.

"Your bosses are fucked up," Vanitas informed him.

"Very," Axel agreed. "Let's go."

They ran into a graveyard, where they saw Roxas and Xion facing each other with their Keyblades in their hands. A wave of darkness was in front of each Keyblade wielder's face, so there was no doubt that each one thought the other was a powerful Heartless. The two of them pulled back their weapons, preparing for a powerful strike.

"Oh, shit!" Vanitas exclaimed, pulling out his BO staff.

Axel summoned his chakrams, and the two ran between Roxas and Xion, holding up their weapons to stop their Keyblades. The Keyblades clanged against the pyrotechnic's weapons, breaking them out of their spells.

"Stop, both of you!" Axel and Vanitas bellowed in unison to add to the effort.

"Xion!?" Roxas exclaimed in surprise as they all lowered their weapons.

"Roxas?" Xion asked. "Wh-what are you doing here? The Heartless I was fighting; it was you?"

"This mission was a setup," Axel announced.

"What?" Roxas asked.

"Your douche bag bosses rigged this mission so you guys would fight each other," Vanitas elaborated for them.

The two holding Keyblades looked at each other in surprise.

"Me and Xion?" Roxas asked. "But..."

"They would do that?" Xion asked, looking down sadly.

The four made their way to the clock tower and sat in their usual spots to partake in ice cream, as they usually did. It made them so happy to be able to finally do this again. They sat in their spots as they started munching on their bars of ice cream.

"Brain freeze..." Xion announced with a slight giggle.

"It's been a while since we all hung out like this, hasn't it?" Roxas asked.

"Too damn long," Vanitas remarked, shaking his head slightly.

"Well, we've had our share of drama lately," Axel reminded them. During his next words, he gestured to the half eaten ice cream in his hand. "I just remembered: did you know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?"

"Really?" Xion asked, interested.

"Once you finish your ice cream, see if the stick says WINNER," Axel informed them.

He took another bite of his bar to reveal more of the stick, and was a little disappointed to see that there was nothing.

"Not that I've ever seen one myself," Axel admitted with slight envy.

Roxas looked up in realization and looked down at his bar in his hand.

"Wait a second..." he said in thought.

"Wait is it?" Axel asked.

"Uh..." Roxas said with uncertainty. "It's n-nothing. So then, what happens when you win?"

Vanitas was able to call his friend's bluff, but didn't say anything because he didn't want to ruin the moment they were having.

"I'll tell ya..." Axel said with a smile before crooking his head to the side in curiosity. "That's a good question."

"What, you don't know?" Roxas asked.

"Well, it's gotta be something nifty, if you're a WINNER, right?" Axel asked.

"Cool..." Roxas said in amazement.

"Why do you sound so astounded?" Vanitas asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Your prize is a spit covered sticky ice cream stick. I don't see what's so special about THAT."

Xion chuckled while looking up at the sunset.

"Wow," she breathed out in amazement, getting the boys' attention. "The sun's beautiful." They followed her gaze to the setting sun. "I know we've seen a lot of sunsets, but today's puts them all to shame... If only things could stay like this forever..."

Axel and Vanitas had to hide the frowns they had at her words, knowing that "forever" was pretty much impossible at this point. Right now, they just wanted a moment with friends.

The usual bickering happened. Axel smacked Roxas on the shoulder when he made a claim, Roxas started driving his elbow towards Xion's as she defended herself while laughing, and once she looked to the side, he knocked her in the back of the head. It was like that stereotypical moment of a young boy tugging on the pigtails of the girl he liked, which Vanitas found adorable. He didn't hesitate to mask his laughter as Roxas chatted with Axel while Xion laugh yelled at Roxas while gripping his shoulder, failing to get his attention.

After a while, things were calm again as the four of them stared out at the sunset.

"Say..." Roxas said in thought, getting their attentions. "What if we all just took off?"

"What?" Xion asked in surprise.

"If we ran, I bet we could always be together," Roxas told them.

"Not a bad idea..." Vanitas muttered as Axel looked down.

"But... we have nowhere to run," Xion pointed out.

"Yeah," Roxas agreed as Axel softly sighed out in sadness. "I guess you're right."

"What's important isn't that we hang out every day," Axel informed them.

"As long as we keep each other in our thoughts, we'll never be apart, right?" Xion asked. "We've got it memorized, Axel."

"Good," Axel said with a nod of the head.

Xion looked down at her ice cream in thought with a slight smile on her face.

"I'll have these moments memorized... for a long time," she announced. "Forever."

"Me, too," Roxas added. "Forever..."

Vanitas smiled at his friends' words, and swore he felt a clenching in his chest similar to sadness. Something was gonna happen... Something big, and something bad, and something told him that it would be happening soon. He had no idea what it was, but he knew it was gonna change everything, and not in a good way.

"You know what?" Vanitas announced, standing up. "This isn't enough..."

"What do you mean?" Axel asked, looking up at the ravenette.

"I mean we do this all the time," Vanitas told them. "Sure, it's nice and the sun's beautiful, but we don't do much else together. I say... just this once, we change things up a bit."

"How so?" Xion asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Simple," Vanitas answered. He looked at Roxas. "My friend, we're gonna take a little trip to a place you haven't been in a long time."

Roxas was confused for all of two seconds before realization appeared on his face.

"You mean...?" he asked.

"Go to a building with a big letter A on the side of it," Vanitas instructed them. "I'll have everything set up for a pretty fun night. Oh, and, we'll have room for one more..."

* * *

Luxord sighed out as he went through the castle to where their separate rooms were. Today's mission ended up leaving him pretty tired, only adding to his desire over the last few months of another day off. The overlords of the Organization were even more relentless than he originally thought.

He rounded the corner and saw his room come into sight. Just as the blonde reached the door, a dark corridor appeared next to him. Out walked Roxas, Axel, and Xion.

"Ah, hello," Luxord greeted. For reasons he did not understand, the portal did not close behind them. "What do you want?"

"We're having a little night off," Axel informed him. "Remember V? He has a plan that he hasn't entirely filled us in on."

"I see..." Luxord said. "And, are you at least concerned about what Vanitas's possible intentions are?"

"It's V," Axel reminded him. "He doesn't have any interest in killing the four of us, and I doubt he'd rope us into a surprise orgy."

Luxord cocked his head to the side in thought and nodded in agreement.

"What's an orgy?" Xion asked, confused.

"You _don't_ want to know," Roxas told her, deadpanned. He shuddered at the memory of when Axel gave him what was called "The Talk."

"All right," Luxord relented. "But if I have to take off my cloak, it'll be your neck."

"Understandable," Axel admitted as the blonde man followed them through the dark corridor.

* * *

"The name of the game is Blackjack," Tony Stark instructed as he shuffled the deck of cards in his hands. "The objective is to use your cards to get as close to the number 21 without going over. Face cards are worth ten each, and an Ace can be either a one or an eleven."

"Tony," Rhodey said. "We know how to play Blackjack."

"I know," Tony said. "I was just reassuring things for our newcomer just in case."

He gestured to Luxord, who was sitting next to Rhodey at the table.

"I understand how cards work," Luxord informed him. "Did you forget what my weapon of choice to fight Heartless is?"

"How exactly are cards violent enough to fight Heartless with?" Steve asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, something tells me that they don't have bladed edges like some magicians use," Tony commented.

"How else?" Luxord asked. "Magic."

The others at the table nodded their heads in understanding.

Vanitas had arranged a get together at Avengers Tower with all that were available at the moment, specifically to merge his two friend groups together to have a good time. Luckily, all of the Avengers had a day off, including Steve and Sam in their quest to find Bucky, and Clint and Natasha found time away from their "prior engagements" for a fun night.

Luxord was currently sitting around a round table playing card games with Tony, Rhodey, Steve, and Clint, with Vanitas and Sam standing up next to the table to watch. Sam had his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised a bit as they watched the group get their own cards ready.

"This oughta be interesting," Sam whispered to Vanitas.

"My thoughts exactly," Vanitas agreed.

Tony distributed the cards, adding an ace to Luxord's five, a six to Steve's eight, a two to Rhodey's three, and a Queen to Clint's 4.

"Depending how you view the ace, I'd say Legolas and the old man are tied for the lead," Tony announced.

"I get one night off in three months, and this is how I spend it," Clint announced. He nodded with a slight smile. "I think it's worth it."

"Nice to hear we're good company," Vanitas joked, grabbing some chips from the bowl on the table.

The men laughed as Tony got ready to distribute the next set of cards.

On the other side of the room, Axel was at one of the TVs with Bruce, Thor, and young Harley Keener, who was visiting from his home in Tennessee for the week as part of his mentorship with Tony. Since the kid had a free night, they figured he would be a nice addition. There were also cans of soda and other bowls of chips on the coffee table in front of them, for obvious snacks.

This group of four was at the TV, with Harley and Bruce showing Axel and Thor how to play Resident Evil 6. They had to admit, the plot was dumb and the action overtook the horror, particularly in Chris's campaign, but they did like how some aspects of the game were.

"Ha!" Axel laughed. "Die, zombies!"

"I must admit," Thor announced as he blasted an approaching zombie with his shotgun in the game. "There is something almost therapeutic about blasting apart these _draugr_."

"They're just zombies," Harley commented. "They don't need fancy nicknames." He leaned towards Bruce and whispered, "What's a _draugr_?"

"Norse word for zombie," Bruce informed him. "They had all kinds of stuff in those stories."

Axel exclaimed in loud surprise as a cutscene played, showing some zombies becoming mutant like beasts.

"Oh, yeah, that happens sometimes," Bruce calmly informed the two shocked newcomers. "I almost turned into the Other Guy more than once while playing these games. *smirks* Good times."

"That's it," Harley decided with a smile. "Once I turn eighteen, I am moving out here."

On another side of the giant room, Roxas and Xion sat on a couch looking up at another big TV. Natasha sat in an armchair next to them with a bowl of popcorn in her lap as they watched one of the Saw movies on the TV. Darcy Lewis also sat in the free spot on the couch next to the two, and Jane Foster sat in the chair next to her. A couple more bowls of popcorn were on the table in front of them, along with some more sodas.

The five around the table looked up at the screen as Billy the puppet announced, "I wanna play a game."

"Oh..." Roxas said in realization as he remembered Natasha's joke from when they were going through that big computer system serving as Arnim Zola's "brain."

"Yeah, this is what I referencing that day," Natasha told the blonde, smirk on her face.

"Now I get it," Roxas admitted. "So what happens next...?"

He looked at the screen, and he and Xion jumped in surprise as they watched some pretty bad things happen to people.

"Holy crap!" Xion exclaimed in surprise.

"I know," Darcy laughed. "These movies were such a shock once they came out." She narrowed her eyes at Jane. "And don't go on about how some of these are 'scientifically impossible.' Four people here don't have hearts, and one is an amnesiac anemic. Science went out the window long ago."

Jane sighed out, muttering, "Everything can still be explained with science..."

"That was disgusting," Xion announced, looking at the TV.

"Yet awesome," Roxas commented, and Xion nodded her head in agreement.

"V really has had an influence on you guys," Natasha quipped before stuffing some popcorn in her mouth.

The two Nobodies had mock scorn on their faces before looking back at the TV. Bruce then walked over to watch the movie with them, standing next to the chair Natasha as sitting in.

"I remember when the first one came out," Bruce told her. "I jumped in surprise so many times the Other Guy would have come out if I had him then."

Natasha chuckled at his admission before they both reached into the bowl of popcorn in her lap. Their hands met, surprising the both of them. They both looked at each other with surprise in their eyes before they both removed their hands and looked up at the screen, trying to forget what just happened.

"Do they..." Vanitas asked Tony on the other side of the room, gesturing to what just happened.

"Like you said about Roxas and Xion," Tony told him. "It's painfully obvious to everyone but them."

"So, I gotta ask," Clint said, garnering their attentions. "This gathering together has been fun. But, it was kind of random. What motivated you to get us together like this?"

"Just... wanted to hang out with friends," Vanitas said, not wanting to reveal the full truth. "You never know when you're gonna get another moment like this, so you should savor them when you have them, you know?"

"Scarface's got a point," Tony quipped.

"You're never gonna drop that, are you?" Vanitas asked, smile on his face.

"Nope," Tony informed him.

The group at the table laughed at the situation before continuing their game, the group playing Resident Evil 6 shared a laugh over how stupid some of the plot in the game was, and the group watching Saw laughed when Natasha did her own impersonation of Billy the Puppet, all while Roxas and Xion stole moments where they held hands or had their arms around each others' waists. Like Vanitas said, this was a time to revel in fun with friends, because you never knew what was gonna happen.

Especially when he knew _something_ was gonna be happening soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to have one more bit of happy times before...  
> you know...


	27. Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The disarray Vanitas had been expecting finally comes into place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little upset at how we're nearing the end now, especially with how the end is...

Vanitas's day ended up bad before he even woke up. In his vision dream, he once again saw Naminé in the pod room looking up at Sora's pod in sadness.

"Sora..." she breathed out.

"It appears we've come to a standstill," DiZ assessed, walking up to her.

"Yes," Naminé agreed.

"This has gone on long enough," DiZ announced. "Riku..."

He turned to see the blindfolded silver haired boy standing a few feet behind him.

"I think you know what needs to be done," DiZ informed him.

"Right," Riku agreed with determination that Vanitas could tell was laced with mixed feelings.

He knew that Riku was determined to help his friend, but he also remembered Riku's reluctance to destroy them after his senses came to him not too long ago. But he also knew that when it came to the silver haired boy's loyalty, if he had to choose between his friend and the Nobodies, he was gonna choose his friend. That meant he was still a bit of a wildcard in his case to help his friends.

The vision then shifted to Axel going up some stairs towards the Grey Area, but stopped at the sight of Saïx above him.

"Looks like you've meddled again," the blue haired man announced.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Axel asked as his former friend walked down the steps towards him.

"The Organization doesn't need both of them," Saïx informed him. "Just one will suffice. Stop pretending. Think about that."

Axel sighed out in silent despair as Saïx continued walking down the stairs away from him.

The vision then shifted to not that much later in the Grey Area where Roxas learned that Xigbar was paired up with Axel and Xion for the mission. Roxas tried asking if he could trade with Xigbar or something, which Saïx called a childish notion. They went on to their mission, with Xion still wearing her hood for some reason. Roxas had no choice but to move on to his own mission, which was having to take out multiple giant Heartless in Twilight Town. Vanitas had a feeling that Roxas wouldn't mind his help for this specific mission.

Vanitas appeared in the alleyway with Roxas, who used the usual Dark Corridor to arrive himself, as per usual.

"Just us and the Heartless today," Roxas commented. "Well... better get it done."

They went around town fighting lots of Heartless of gigantic magnitude. There was a Heat Saber in front of the clock tower, a giant living plant in the underground concourse, a large, purple Invisible called an Orcus in the Tram Common, a Mega Shadow in at the bottom of the tunnel, a blue and grey schemed Guard Armor in the Sandlot, and another Veil Lizard in front of the Haunted Mansion. They also fought a pretty powerful Heartless called the Dust Flier outside the clock tower, which took much more difficulty than most of the other ones. It wasn't easy, but they managed to finish off the Dust Flier, so they called it a mission and went back to their respective homes.

It was then that Vanitas got a vision about how the mission with Axel, Xion, and Xigbar had gone. Xigbar complained about how when _he_ looked at Xion, he saw... Ventus? Vanitas didn't have time to think about it because Xion knocked aside Xigbar with her Keyblade, and ran away, making Axel promise to look after Roxas by showing her face. He didn't see what was up with her face, but he could tell it wasn't anything pleasant.

Especially when the vision shifted to show the aftermath once Roxas got back. Saïx expressed disappointment that they were left with "the one they can't use," and Xigbar informed Roxas that Axel just stood to the side and let Xion leave once again. To say Roxas was disappointed in his friend was an understatement, especially when Axel tried telling him that Xion was a puppet created to duplicate his powers, which the blonde also denied. Looks like he also got Sora's tendencies to deny anything negative someone tells him about his friends.

Vanitas sighed out at this development before downing a sleeping potion, wanting some rest after having to take out that Dust Flier. This next vision started with Xion walking through a dark corridor sans mask onto the bridge outside Beast's Castle. She looked up to see Riku in front of her.

"Riku!" Xion greeted.

"Did you find the answer?" Riku asked.

"Yes, I certainly did," Xion assured him. "I'm on the verge of losing everything I care about. So please... Please Riku, tell me what I should do now."

"Go to Twilight Town," Riku told her. "You'll find a girl there named Naminé."

"Naminé?" Xion asked. "What's she like?"

"You'll find out," Riku informed her. "I don't think you'll have trouble finding her."

"All right," Xion said with a slight nod of the head. "Thanks, Riku. Good-bye..."

She turned and walked away, and this vision ended. Vanitas was sure his heart was clenching in sadness as he knew why she was going.

Things only got worse when the vision shifted to the next morning, into a meeting in the Round Room with the remaining Organization members in their thrones.

"Xion has disappeared yet again," Xemnas announced.

"Do we know where she has headed?" Xaldin asked.

"'It'- not 'she' -is a replica, merely a puppet," Xemnas corrected him.

"A puppet?" Luxord asked in confusion. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"A puppet is a puppet," Saïx said.

"Talking about the Replica Program, isn't it obvious?" Xigbar elaborated.

"The what-ca?" Demyx asked in confusion.

"Perhaps you'd care to enlighten us about this pet project of yours," Xaldin requested of Xemnas.

Xemnas smirked before explaining, "The purpose was to take a piece of the Keyblade wielder's memory and copy it, thus making his powers our own. This was one of several projects of ours being undertaken at Castle Oblivion. However, our efforts were severely derailed by Vexen's untimely demise. Needless to say, losing Vexen was not part of our plans. We were also caught off guard when this particular replica we called Xion formed an identity of its own."

"No one at Castle Oblivion ever reported any instance of where a replica formed its own identity," Saïx announced, sending an accusing glare at Axel. "Do you concur, Axel?"

Axel just looked down with his arms crossed.

"Whatever the puppet may decide to do, we can be certain it will no longer have an impact on our plans," Xemnas continued. "Still, it knows our secrets. We need to shorten the leash. Perhaps even tighten it."

Roxas looked up with his eyes wide at the man's words.

"What exactly do you..." he started to ask.

"Axel," Xemnas announced, looking at the redhead. "The onus is on you to capture and bring back Xion. The escape was on your watch. I will overlook any nicks or scratches. Just ensure she still functions on arrival."

"Why would you allow a deserted back?" Xaldin asked. "We should simply eradicate her!"

"It is not a 'deserter'," Saïx informed him. "It is just a flawed specimen that has wandered out."

"Are we clear, Axel?" Xemnas asked Axel. Axel just stared at the man, and he got the message. "Dismissed."

Darkness surged around him, and he disappeared.

"Bring her back alive?" Xaldin asked. "It's sheer madness."

Darkness surged around him, and he disappeared.

"All this time, I've been talking to a puppet..." Demyx said in despair before darkness surged around him, making him disappear.

"So now, we just sleep it up, huh?" Xigbar asked. "As if."

Darkness surged around him, and he disappeared.

"If only the whispers at the top carried to the bottom," Luxord said in slight envy. "Heh."

Darkness surged around him, and he disappeared.

"Axel," Saïx called out to the redhead still there. "Those orders were absolute."

Axel "hmph-ed" to himself before darkness surged around him, making him disappear. Saïx then looked from where Axel was to where Roxas was still looking down in sadness.

"Still here, Roxas?" he asked. "Proceed with your mission."

"Xion is... she's not a puppet," Roxas denied with determination as he looked up at Saïx.

"A puppet couldn't be a part of the Organization," Saïx informed him. He looked up and around. "Just count the seats here. We have and always will be thirteen."

Darkness surged around him and he disappeared, leaving Roxas alone to continue staring down in sadness.

Eventually, the blonde left, and ran to the Grey Area just as Axel was about to walk through a dark corridor.

"Axel!" Roxas called out, stopping the redhead in his tracks. He ran up to his friend and stopped behind him. "Maybe its best... if Xion never comes back to the Organization. Do you really have to do what Xemnas says?"

"If I don't, they'll eradicate me next," Axel informed the distressed blonde.

"In that case..." Roxas said. "...Can you at least try not to harm her?"

"That's up to her," Axel informed him. He turned to face his friend. "Roxas... Xion is dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Roxas asked.

"Have you got all your strength back?" Axel asked.

"Not yet," Roxas said, looking down. Axel looked down with his arms crossed while Roxas looked back up at him. "How long have you known about her?"

"Could it be..." he started, looking down in hurt before looking back up at Axel. "That you've known about her for a long time, and not told me anything?"

Axel said nothing, and just walked into the portal. Roxas huffed out in exasperation knowing he wasn't gonna get an answer anytime soon, so he walked up to Saïx for, what he didn't know, was gonna be his last mission.

"I have a special project for you," Saïx informed him.

He was to set up a device in Agrabah.

Vanitas gasped awake and sat up in his bed, as per usual. He got ready and used his Vortex Manipulator to appear outside the Cave of Wonders with his blonde friend.

"You saw it all?" Roxas asked, looking up at the cave.

"Every word," Vanitas confirmed.

"Did you know?" Roxas asked as they entered the cave.

"I heard them talking about how she's a puppet and a replica, but I didn't understand what the hell they were talking about," Vanitas admitted. "It's like I said when we found out she came from Castle Oblivion: how the hell do you share that kind of news?"

Roxas had to admit that Vanitas had a point as they made their way through the cave to the lowest levels. They were once again in the circular chamber that Vanitas and his friends had fought Jafar in, and walked up to the center of the room.

"This is the place," Roxas announced.

He got to work setting up a large, strange looking device in the center of the room, which floated up in the air and whirred with energy.

"Wonder what this thing even does..." Roxas said in thought.

"Hell if I know," Vanitas admitted.

The sound of Heartless teleportation appeared behind them, and Nocturnal Heartless along with another armored Large Body appeared behind them.

"Heartless!" Roxas announced, summoning his Keyblade. "They must be after the device."

"Kinda doubt that," Vanitas commented, pulling out an Benelli M4 tactical shotgun.

He blasted the Nocturnal Heartless with the shotgun before joining Roxas in fighting the armored Large Body. Working together, using lots of combos, spells, and blasts from the shotgun, the armored Heartless was destroyed as well.

"Huff...huff..." Roxas panted after they finished off the Heartless.

He dismissed his Keyblade and Vanitas put away the shotgun before looking up at the device.

"What am I doing?" Roxas asked. "Getting worked up over some device. Like I've got any clue what the Organization even uses it for... Everything's a mystery. They didn't even tell me about Xion."

"You really live with the 'bosses are dicks' stereotype," Vanitas commented.

"Big time," Roxas agreed, before looking down. "Hmph, the biggest mystery is me: the idiot who keeps doing everything he's told."

"Hey, it's all they taught you how to do," Vanitas reminded him. "You're not an idiot, you just didn't understand the concept of rebellion until I entered your life. And with me in your life, you spent a week on Earth 616 to help save a whole lot of people, then had a night out where you watched some good, old fashioned torture porn. You can be a rebel."

Roxas offered a slight smile before walking out of the Cave with Vanitas behind him, and pausing in front of the dark corridor.

"Why am I doing this?" Roxas asked himself. "Why am I going back to the castle? There's nothing there for me. How can I keep working for them if they're gonna leave me in the dark?"

"You don't need to," Vanitas told him. "You said it yourself... you could run off, and you wouldn't have to worry about those pricks."

"What am I saying..." Roxas asked, shaking his head and looking at the portal. "This isn't about them, or Xion. It's about me. Whatever 'me' is."

He looked up.

"I feel like I'm the only person who doesn't know," Roxas admitted. "Have I got anything left? Any place I really belong?"

Vanitas didn't have an answer. The truth was, he didn't even know what to say to something like that. After all, the boy in front of him was having a very big question about who he was, and this wasn't something he could answer. He barely even understood himself. All he knew was that Roxas was Sora's Nobody, and he had a feeling that wasn't enough of an answer for his younger friend.

Vanitas was so enamored in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice when a tear slid down Roxas's cheek, and he wiped it off. He then slipped his hood on and walked through the dark corridor, which then disappeared from sight.

Vanitas sighed out before making his way back to Earth 616, knowing they were out of options. Whatever was gonna happen... he knew was not gonna be pleasant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember I died, like, twenty times against the Dust Flier. I only ever beat it in Mission Mode which let me die like, 5 times maximum. Then again, I never used Potions. I was an idiot when I was a kid with Potions and Ethers, which probably ended up being a big factor. Plus, the only spell I ever used in any game was Cure until, once again, I got older and smarter.
> 
> Also, I was so unobservant about what was happening at this point the very first time I played the game that I didn't even notice the bad things that were happening at this point. I was even confused when day 355 started and Saïx wasn't there to give me a mission. Now, looking back, I'm a little embarrassed at how unobservant I was towards that stuff. It really is a sad story. Sure, you hang out with Disney characters and learn about the power of friendship, but underneath all of that, Kingdom Hearts is DARK


	28. Break out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas escapes from the Organization with a little help from Vanitas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there... I'm getting the tissues ready for the next chapter

Luckily during his night time vision this time, Vanitas ended up seeing a familiar face. Mickey Mouse was walking through the forest outside of Twilight Town on his lonesome wearing his own version of an Organization XIII cloak when he suddenly came across a very tall figure in another cloak. The figure removed his hood, revealing the face of Ansem. Mickey literally jumped into action by backflipping away and summoning his Keyblade.

Ansem smirked slightly before pulling out his blindfold. Mickey watched in surprised confusion as Ansem covered his eyes with the blindfold, and darkness surged around him. The mouse's surprise only grew tenfold once the darkness faded and he saw that Ansem had changed back to Riku.

"Riku!" Mickey exclaimed, dismissing his Keyblade and running forwards slightly to get a closer look at his friend.

"Your Majesty," Riku greeted.

"Gosh, have I been worried about you!" Mickey exclaimed. "Where've you been all this time?"

"I've been... searching for a way to conquer the darkness within me... while we wait for Sora to awaken," Riku explained.

"The way you looked..." Mickey said.

"You don't have to worry about me," Riku informed him. "I'm getting the hang of keeping the darkness under control."

"And Sora..." Mickey said. "Did something go wrong with fixing all his memories? And where's V been? Couldn't he have helped you keep it under control?"

"V and I... had a bit of a falling out," Riku admitted. "I'll get to that. There's a reason the Organization's been quiet since our battle since Castle Oblivion. And now I know it's not because a depletion in members had made them weak. Taking Sora's memory apart piece by piece was only the first step in what they were trying to do at Castle Oblivion. And I think they needed more time to fix his memory."

"You know..." Mickey said. "You, me, and V were all looking into what the Organization was up to, but what I saw didn't look like much. Almost like they're trying to buy some time... And I'm guessing trying to figure out what to do about it caused disagreements between you and V, which is why you had a falling out."

"Right on both accounts," Riku admitted. "Sora's memories are what they're after. And they needed all this time until now to absorb every piece of it."

"Huh?" Mickey asked.

"The process of putting his memory back together has gone nowhere..." Riku informed him. "They have what's most precious to Sora... his memories of Kairi."

"Well, then you have to let me help!" Mickey insisted with determination. "Maybe I could get the memories back!"

After a pause, Riku informed him, "I've got that covered, Your Maj... I mean, Mickey. Instead, I want to ask you for a favor."

"What would that be?" Mickey asked.

"I have to face one of the Organization's members soon," Riku explained, looking up in thought. "I might not survive the fight. And if I do, it might be because I gave into the darkness." He looked back down at Mickey. "That means that you and V will be the only ones who will be there for Sora, Donald, and Goofy... the only ones who can guide them when they awaken."

"Riku..." Mickey said with his eyes narrowed in worry.

"You're the only one that V will listen to," Riku admitted. "Promise me, Mickey. When our friends wake up, you have to be there to help them out."

After a pause of his own, Mickey finally relented, "I promise, Riku."

Vanitas gasped as he woke up, sitting up in his bed. This ended up being another one of the situations where he wished that he could just wish that what he saw never happened.

He did the usual of explaining what he saw to Tony and Bruce over breakfast. During it, though, there was a weird little tugging sensation in the back of his mind like he wouldn't see them again for a long while after today. He pushed that aside as he continued explaining the latest vision, along with the latest developments involving Roxas to his friends.

"Man, it really was good of us to have that party the other night," Tony commented with wide eyes.

"Yeah, you think," Vanitas agreed.

"Riku himself said he's gonna be facing one of the Organization's members soon," Bruce reminded him. "If he already sent Xion to Naminé, well that means there's only one person left in the cult that he has to get Sora's memories from..."

"I know..." Vanitas admitted, sighing out. "And I don't know how he'd fare. On one hand, we managed to defeat Riku together when he was at his worst with the darkness. On the other, who the hell knows what that darkness allows him to do nowadays."

"What do you think his chances are?" Tony asked.

"I'd say about 50-50 what with what we were just talking about," Vanitas admitted. "Thing is, though, we all know things are gonna go bad, and soon. I just wanna know when exactly..."

He stopped as he gripped his head to see the vision of Roxas. The blonde was still laying in bed and looking up at the ceiling.

"Xion..." Roxas said in thought. "Replica Program..." He put his hand to his head as he put together everything he had learned. "Xion was a puppet made to replicate my powers... the Keyblade's powers... When Xion left the Organization, Axel didn't stop her. Like he wanted her to go... Axel's probably known about Xion for some time now, but has kept it from me. Same with V... Xion and I are both special Nobodies."

"Xion was a replica," he continued. "A puppet." He moved onto his side. "What about me? Am I a puppet, too? Xemnas said... Sora was what connects her and me. But who is Sora? And who am I... supposed to be?"

He sat up and finally took his hands off of his head.

"Axel..." Roxas realized. "If he's hiding things from me about Xion, what could he be hiding from me?"

He swung his legs over his bed and stood up, walking out of his room, through the hallways and into the Grey Area, where he found Axel in the center of the room, looking towards the windows.

"Axel," Roxas greeted.

"Hey, Roxas," Axel greeted back.

After a pause where he looked down and back up, Roxas asked, "Did you find Xion yet?"

"You know it isn't gonna be that easy," Axel pointed out.

"I suppose not..." Roxas admitted, looking down. He looked back up. "Have you and V known... about Xion this whole time?"

"No, not the whole time," Axel admitted. "And I don't know how long V's known, or what all he knows. Hell, for all we know he just learned last week.

Roxas cocked his head to the side with a face that said "True" before looking back up at Axel with his original determination.

"Since when then?" Roxas asked.

"Uh..." Axel said obviously in fake thought. "I can't exactly remember when."

"Didn't get it memorized, huh?" Roxas asked with no emotion, throwing Axel's catchphrase back at him. He looked down and sighed out. "Axel... Who am I, really?" He held up his hands to his face and looked at them. "I'm special, like Xion, I know that. But the Organization wanted me out of the picture. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Axel admitted. "They did."

"I guess it's 'cause Xion copied my powers, and the Keyblade's powers, and they didn't need me anymore," Roxas said with no emotion, looking down at his closed right hand. "And Axel, I guess you felt the same way."

"You're wrong there," Axel denied, facing his friend directly. "You'll always be... my best friend."

"Best friends are supposed to be honest with each other!" Roxas remarked, hurt growing in his voice as he talked. "Who am I, Axel?" He looked down. "Xemnas says me and Xion are connected to each other through Sora." He looked back up. "I don't even know a Sora! Am I a puppet, like Xion?"

"You're different from Xion," Axel informed him.

Anger in his voice, Roxas started to ask, "Then why d-"

"Finding out the truth doesn't always work out for the best," Axel interrupted him.

 _And always knowing the truth is even worse_ , Vanitas thought in sorrow.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Roxas demanded. "I have the right to know the truth!"

"How did I even get here?" Roxas asked with less anger, which returned in his next question. "Why am I so special? Where did I learn how to use the Keyblade? I hardly know who I am! What is so wrong with wanting some damn answers!?"

"Roxas..." Axel said with an attempting-to-calm-down voice.

"I need to know, Axel," Roxas begged with less anger and more desperation. "Please... who am I?"

"You've just gotta trust me, Roxas," Axel told him, desperation in his eyes.

"I don't," Roxas denied, hurt in his eyes. "I can't."

"Roxas..." Axel called out as the blonde turned around and started walking towards the exit of the room.

"Somebody knows where I came from," Roxas muttered to himself. "If I can't get answers here, I'll get them somewhere else." He stopped. "That'll be the person... I trust."

The vision continued as Vanitas watched Roxas go back to his room and write "I have to know who I am... I am DONE WITH THIS" in his diary. He then pulled out the WINNER ice cream stick he had gotten and looked down at it in thought.

"I tried..." Roxas said in thought. "But I have to find out about myself. There's no reason for me to be here... anymore."

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended. If that meant what he thought it meant...

"Roxas has finally come to his senses involving the pricks he works for," Vanitas announced, standing up and slipping on his Vortex Manipulator. "And I'm gonna help him get the fuck out of there."

"What if he doesn't want your help?" Bruce pointed out.

"Eh, didn't stop me from helping Sora that one time," Vanitas pointed out. "And I ended up being in the right. Thing is, though... I don't know how long this is gonna take, or if the Manipulator battery will be able to last the distance between this world and that world. So..."

"Don't," Tony said. "You don't know for sure. So unless you do end up knowing completely... this isn't good-bye. At least, not yet."

Vanitas took in his words and nodded his head slightly.

"Not yet," he repeated. He looked down at the battery of his Vortex Manipulator. 10.991%. "Not yet."

Vanitas pressed the buttons and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Tony and Bruce alone. Tony then reached for the pad on the table, and his eyes widened in realization.

"JARVIS has been set off," he told Bruce. "I wonder how long he's been like this."

Tony pressed the buttons to switch JARVIS back on, and the lights on the pad turned on with blue light.

"Thank you, sir," JARVIS announced.

"JARVIS, how long have you been out?" Tony asked.

"About twenty-six hours, sir," JARVIS informed him.

"I should have known," Tony muttered to himself. "I thought it was too quiet."

"There was a security breach, sir," JARVIS explained. "One in the manner of Vanitas Jordan's Vortex Manipulator."

"So whoever turned you off teleported in," Bruce assessed.

"Exactly," JARVIS informed them. "Running diagnostics, to see if anything was taken." He paused for a few seconds as he did exactly that, scanning the rooms to see their current states. "Confirmation: the only item stolen was a vial of sleeping potion from Vanitas Jordan's extra stash he hasn't used in weeks."

"His extra stash?" Bruce asked.

"Wouldn't you have more than one stash of magic potions, just in case?" Tony asked.

"Well, sure," Bruce admitted.

"Wait, so someone broke in and just stole his potion?" Tony asked.

"Affirmative," JARVIS confirmed.

"That means they were looking for it specifically," Bruce said, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "They had a damn agenda."

"Oh, shit," Tony breathed out. "Now I wish we could've finished those communicators..."

* * *

Roxas had already run through all the corridors of the castle to try to get to the way out. He had just reached the area of Nothing's Call and was going through the large hallway towards the exit, and ended up finding Saïx standing at the top of the pathway down, seemingly waiting for him.

"We don't accept resignations," Saïx informed him.

"I've got nothing to say to you," Roxas told the man.

"Then let's keep this short and sweet," Saïx told him.

His claymore appeared in his hand backhanded and he faced Roxas.

"Just my style," Vanitas's voice announced behind the blue haired man.

Saïx and Roxas looked behind him to see Vanitas standing on a part of the ramp lower than him, machete in hand. Vanitas cocked his head to the side, and they could hear a slight "pop" of bone.

"Nice to see you're owning up to who you are this time instead of hiding behind the hood," Vanitas taunted.

"Exactly how long have you been associating with an enemy of the Organization?" Saïx asked, looking towards Roxas, who had summoned his Keyblade.

"Like I'm gonna tell you," Roxas remarked, standing in his battle stance.

Energy started to surge around Saïx as he announced, "Moon, shine down!" Roxas ran forwards quickly and started a combo attack, and used a finisher quickly to stop the energy from completing. Vanitas ran forwards and started attacking with his friend, Roxas from the front and him from the back, with each of their respective weapons. They managed to keep the attacks up while moving to the side of the square shaped area. Roxas even managed to do a wicked looking aerial combo before blasting Thundaga.

"Xion's absorbing your powers?" Vanitas asked as they landed on the ground. Roxas nodded. "Man, I'd hate to be the guy you fight when you have your full strength back."

Saïx lunged forwards with an attack, exclaiming, "Ingrate!" which Roxas blocked with his Keyblade. He then did a counter attack that knocked the man back quite a bit. Roxas and Vanitas then followed it up with magic, Blizzaga then Thundaga from Roxas, and a large fireball from Vanitas that did the usual explosion on impact.

However, the man ended up being too far away for them to be able to attack in a way to stop the energy from surging around him completely. Saïx rose into the air, announcing, "Moon, shine down!" The energy turned purple and white around him as he screamed out loudly. He floated down to the ground with purple energy still around him.

"He didn't do _this_ when we fought," Vanitas remarked with wide eyes.

"You guys fought?" Roxas asked in surprise.

"I forgot to mention that part?" Vanitas asked in equal surprise.

The two immediately had to scatter as Saïx started gliding over the ground, slamming his claymore into the ground to cause shockwaves of attacks. Roxas then jumped up into the air as the man launched the claymore into the ground right where he stood. Roxas then landed next to the claymore and picked it up, floating over the ground with red energy around him. This made Vanitas's eyebrows rise in confusion as he floated over to Saïx and started attacking him with his own weapon. After a few attacks, the "Rage energy" disappeared from around Saïx, and he was knocked back a bit, groaning in pain.

The claymore reappeared in Saïx's hand as he stood up, admitting, "I misjudged you." He tried doing another lunging forwards attack, but Roxas blocked it, once again knocking the man's weapon out. Saïx steamed a bit before Roxas and Vanitas continued their attacks, with Roxas once again doing wicked looking combos before blasting Blizzaga again, and Vanitas kicked the man right in the groin in the chest, knocking him even further from his friend.

But then the claymore reappeared in the man's hand, and he did another attack, which actually made impact this time. They tried retaliating, but then Saïx rose up into the air as the Rage Energy once again surrounded him. He landed on the ground and jumped up into the air, slamming back into the ground and causing a shockwave as he dropped it. Roxas had tried to run in during this because he knew attacking him with his own weapon would break him out of the Rage Energy. Instead, the attack hit him quite a bit. Luckily for the both of them, before Saïx could jump into the air to repeat that attack, Vanitas had pulled the pin from a grenade and slipped it into the man's pocket. The grenade blew while Saïx was in the air, breaking out the Rage Energy and throwing him to the ground hard.

Roxas then used Curaga to heal himself before the two friends continued to press their attacks. Once Saïx got enough energy back, he tried to lunge towards Roxas again, which Roxas blocked with Reflega, and once the claymore was knocked onto the ground behind him, the Reflega broke and sent out mini explosions in retaliation, damaging the man a bit more.

After Vanitas had done more than his fair share of slashes with his machete, the blade got knocked out of his hand by Saïx finally deciding to be smart with his claymore. Vanitas then had to duck as Saïx lunged with his claymore again, which Roxas blocked, knocking it out of his hand and onto the ground. Saïx steamed over his lost weapon once again while Roxas used another wicked combo to attack. Vanitas meanwhile, went for the closer option and pulled Saïx's claymore out of the ground.

"Ha!" Vanitas announced, facing the man with his own weapon in his hands.

The claymore then disappeared in a flash of light, to his surprise. It then reappeared in Saïx's hand once again.

"Probably should have seen that coming," Vanitas admitted, nodding his head.

Saïx rose up into the air once again, and once again Rage Energy surrounded him. Vanitas backflipped away, while Roxas started something called Final Limit.

Roxas ended up floating up into the air with his Keyblade floating behind his shoulder with him. He glided towards Saïx, and the two ended up going around most of the area, with Roxas blocking the attacks and Saïx keeping them up. Vanitas covered his friend with handguns while Roxas managed to get the claymore and use it to break Saïx out of the Rage Energy, just what he needed. Vanitas felt like he was intruding as this "Final Limit" made Roxas do the most wicked and awesome looking combo attack he had ever seen, knocking the man back quite a bit as the claymore disappeared.

Vanitas joined his friend as they stood across from Saïx, who was clutching his chest in pain.

"Nngh..." Saïx grunted. "How much longer..."

The man fell onto his knees and rested one hand on the ground and one on his chest.

"This is you without your full powers," Vanitas assessed, looking at Roxas, once again with his eyes wide. "How the hell powerful are you, man!?"

Roxas said nothing as he dismissed his Keyblade and started walking past the blue haired man, who was still groaning in pain.

"Kingdom... Hearts..." Saïx groaned out. "Will your strength never be mine?"

Vanitas had picked up his machete and was starting to follow his friend. But he stopped at Saïx and kicked the man right in the head, knocking him on his back.

"Over my dead body," Vanitas announced, walking towards the man's head. "And I can't even die right now. Anyway, time to fulfill a promise."

He stomped Saïx right in the face, and the man's eyes closed as it fell to the ground unconscious.

Moving on, Vanitas followed Roxas down the ramp and through the abandoned looking city, keeping his distance to respect his still silent friend. They walked across a large skyscraper with a giant screen near the top, and towards where the road led to some alleyways. Vanitas quickly took notice of Axel leaning against a wall as they walked, and he stopped near the redhead as Roxas kept walking.

"Your mind's made up?" Axel asked, causing Roxas to finally stop.

"Why did the Keyblade choose me?" Roxas asked, looking over his shoulder at the redhead. "I have to know."

"You can't turn on the Organization!" Axel announced with urgency in his voice as he separated from the wall. "You get on their bad side, and they'll destroy you!"

"No one would miss me," Roxas blankly told him, before continuing to walk down the alley.

"That's not true," Axel remarked. He looked down, defeated. "I would."

"I'll watch out for him," Vanitas assured him. "I'll make sure they don't destroy him."

"And if he doesn't want you to?" Axel asked.

"When's that ever stopped me?" Vanitas asked, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I'll do my best. I promise."

He started walking at a quicker pace than Roxas so he could catch up to his friend that was moving through the alleys of the city. He managed to, and was now walking alongside Roxas.

"You gonna tell me to go to hell?" Vanitas asked.

"Do you know who I am?" Roxas asked.

"When somebody loses their heart, their heart becomes a Heartless, and their body is a Nobody," Vanitas reminded him. "Each group should have the other's name, but I can't change that. Anyway, someone with a strong enough will that becomes a Nobody will have their Nobody remain in a human form, which is exactly what Organization XIII has been comprised of: Nobodies that still look like humans. Thing is, though, when they join the Organization, their names become anagrams of their original names with the letter X added. Xemnas used to be Ansem, Xigbar used to be Braig, and Axel used to be Lea."

Roxas's eyes widened slightly as he took in the information. They then widened slightly a bit more as he realized something else.

"Sora..." Roxas breathed out.

"You're his Nobody," Vanitas confirmed. "But what makes you special is that you were able to exist at the same time as Sora. With help from the person he cared about most, he was able to revert back to normal from just a Heartless. But I do know one thing: you might have come from Sora, but you made yourself into your own person. It doesn't matter to me whether you have a heart or not. You are your own person, and deserve every right to be able to call yourself one."

Roxas smiled slightly at his friend's words and looked down as they kept walking through the alleys.

"So, you gonna tell me to go to hell?" Vanitas asked.

"Maybe later," Roxas admitted.

Vanitas smirked and looked down at the battery of his Vortex Manipulator. 5.661%. Vanitas whistled at how high a drop that was.

"How much is gone?" Roxas asked.

"More than I'd prefer," Vanitas admitted. "Do you have a way out of here?"

"Yeah," Roxas told him. "Just around this corner."

They turned the corner and found themselves facing a big, circular, black, white and blue corridor in front of them.

"Yeah, this isn't ominous," Vanitas muttered.

Nevertheless, he followed Roxas through the portal, and they ended up in a weird data-like chamber leading towards another portal, this one red green and white, on the other side. Cautious and curious, Vanitas followed Roxas through this portal, and the two found themselves on a rooftop in Twlight Town. Vanitas's eyes widened at this.

"What the hell?" Vanitas asked.

"Apparently that chamber can take you wherever you desire," Roxas explained as the smaller portal on the wall behind them closed. "While we were in there, I set it to Twilight Town."

"That... is awesome," Vanitas sighed out.

* * *

Not too much later, Roxas was sleeping on another rooftop deeper in the city with Vanitas sitting next to him. He was too alert about how they were now basically on the run to lose enough nerves to down a sleeping potion.

Vanitas sighed out, contemplating their next course of action, when he suddenly gripped his head at the familiar surge of pain for a vision. Inside the white room he had seen earlier, Naminé was sitting at the table, smiling at Xion standing in front of the table across from her.

"Nice to meet you..." Naminé greeted as Xion removed her hood. "Xion."

The raven haired girl sat in the chair and looked at Naminé across from her.

"Naminé, are you able... to see my face?" Xion asked.

"Yes," Naminé confirmed.

"Then what do you think I should do?" Xion asked.

"What do you want to do?" Naminé asked.

Xion looked down at thought, then up at the drawing Naminé had made of her and the boys, Roxas, Vanitas, and Axel.

"At first, I wanted to be with Roxas, V, and Axel forever," Xion admitted. "But then I started to realize that my memories... Well, these aren't really even mine, are they?"

"You're not Sora, and you're not Roxas," Naminé informed her. "You're Kairi as Sora remembers her."

Xion looked down, then back up before explaining, "As I remember more of my past, the more I feel the need to go back where I came from... What should I do... to go back?"

"So you're going back to Sora?" Naminé asked. "If you return your memories to him, then you will disappear. In exchange for not having your own memory, you're connected through other's memories. So when you disappear, no one will remember you. There won't be any 'you' to remember. For all the powers I possess, I can't keep even one piece of the memory called 'you' connected."

Xion looked down at her hands connected in her lap, then looked back up at Naminé with determination.

"I know," she announced. "I'm ready. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. I also know that Roxas should be going back with me. But... I don't think he would understand. Not yet."

"I know," Naminé informed her. "Roxas can't feel Sora just yet..."

"Naminé, will you please watch over Roxas once I'm gone?" Xion asked. "You won't be alone. I asked someone else, too. And I'm pretty sure there's another one who'd be more than willing to help. There just isn't anything else I can do."

"All right," Naminé agreed.

"Thank you..." Xion said.

"Well, if you're ready, let's go see Sora," Naminé instructed.

Darkness then suddenly surged near the wall, making DiZ appear.

"Naminé, it's them!" he exclaimed, looking at the blonde. "The Organization has found us! They're almost here!" He shot an accusing glance at Xion. "This blasted puppet led them right to our doorstep! See what you get for trusting it?"

Xion stood up with determination on her face, announcing, "I can handle this!"

She turned to the door and started running to it.

"Wait!" Naminé exclaimed. "Xion..."

Xion went outside the mansion and the gate in front of it. She shut the gate and looked around in front of it, curiously and on edge. A dark corridor appeared and Axel walked through.

"Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?" the redhead muttered to himself.

Axel closed the corridor behind him and walked forwards a bit. He and Xion were now facing each other with a few feet of distance across from the other.

"Axel..." Xion greeted in sadness.

"Xion... what are you gonna do?" Axel asked.

"I've decided that I have to go back to where I belong," Xion explained.

"Well, to be honest, I always felt that was best, right from the very beginning," Axel admitted. "But you know, it still really bugs me. Something about this just stinks."

 _Hell, yeah, it_ _does_ , Vanitas thought miserably.

"It's for the good of everyone," Xion informed him.

"But how do you know that?" Axel asked. "Everybody thinks they're right..."

"This is right..." Xion declared, looking down sadly.

"They're gonna destroy you!" Axel yelled.

Xion summoned her Keyblade and stood in her stance, and Axel gasped in surprise.

"Please don't hold back, Axel," Xion begged. "Promise."

Axel's surprise quickly turned to anger as he looked to the side and back up. He soon ended up leaning forwards while looking straight at the ground with his arms spread, exclaiming, " _What's your problem!?_ "

"You both..." Axel exclaimed with more calm anger instead of visible anger. "Think you can do whatever you want." During his next words, he stood up straight. "Well, I'm sick of it."

"Go on, you just keep running," Axel announced, holding out his left hand. Fire and thorns appeared under his hand. "But I'll always be there to bring you back!"

Vanitas was only able to see the start of the fight before the vision ended. He gasped in realization that two of his friends, people he really cared about, were about to start fighting again. Severely hoping there was something he could do to stop it, he re-checked the battery of the Vortex Manipulator. No, there was too little for him to risk it.

Instead, knowing Roxas was probably all right, Vanitas jumped off the building and landed in a roll before starting to run through the town. Within a few minutes, the hole in the wall became visible, and he navigated through the woods.

He reached the area where they were fighting, but neither of them were there. However, the faint burn marks in the grass indicated _something_ just happened. Looking around, Vanitas managed to catch sight of Naminé in the second story window in her room. They both shared a look of sadness, and she shook her head, confirming Vanitas's thoughts.

Just when Vanitas thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. He and Roxas were now in hiding, they had no idea what to do, and Axel had brought Xion back to the Organization for who knows what. At this point, there was only one thing left for him to say...

"Fuck!" Vanitas exclaimed in despair.

There was nothing left to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another episode of the Kingdom Hearts Timeline I just love, because of how they managed to use editing for it. Oh, my god, they managed to do Roxas vs Saïx pretty much in the same vein of Sora vs data Saïx with that length of Health, in the Nothing's Call area, with some BITCHING music they got from another channel (who they also credit). I'd watch this entire Timeline for the music alone. Plus, Final Limit was pretty much a Roxas-esque single Keybladed version of Final Form. It actually works pretty well in the video. Plus, V does have a pretty good question. I mean, even without the Timeline edited part, Roxas managed to defeat Saïx, a pretty powerful member of the Organization, by himself, in a way that left the man groaning in pain. How the hell powerful is Roxas overall?
> 
> And that's not even going into the Xion vs Axel fights included in the episode. It's so heart wrenching, what with the battle between friends, and the music helps give it a nice, somber mood. I didn't include it here because the chapter was getting long enough, and Vanitas saw just enough for him to be surprised as Roxas in the next chapter


	29. Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas is forced to watch very bad things happen to his friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare the tissues
> 
> Also, this one, I said "to hell with it" and decided to make this one extra long, combining the last two days. Of course, it isn't gonna be good for the boys...

The next day, Roxas and Vanitas sat on top of the clock tower in their spots, sighing out that they didn't have any plans at this moment. Roxas was even hugging his legs against his chest as they looked out at the city in front of them.

"Okay..." Vanitas started. "We don't have any kind of plan, who knows what the hell is happening to our friends right now, and the Organization is maybe hunting us down. But other than that..."

He trailed off with a look of embarrassment on his face.

"I don't know where I was going with this," Vanitas admitted.

Roxas made a slight fake chuckle at both his friend's words, and their current situation.

"Where did I think I could go?" he asked himself. "What a joke."

Roxas put his head down against his arm.

"Hey, I've seen people leave more for stupider reasons than yours," Vanitas tried consoling before realizing that wouldn't work. "That's not helping, either. Man I _cannot_ talk today."

Their attentions were soon drawn to the sound of approaching footsteps. Xion walked along the pathway towards her spot with her hood over her face. She sat in her spot and Roxas looked up at her.

"Xion!" he exclaimed in surprise, moving his legs over the ledge as he sat there.

Roxas watched as Xion took out an ice cream bar and offered it to him.

"Thank you," Roxas said gratefully.

Vanitas smiled at them as Xion took out her own bar, and the two started eating their ice cream as they watched the sunset. However, during the entire time they ate their ice cream, he couldn't help but feel like something big, and something very horrible, was gonna happen pretty soon. He tried to push aside the feeling, but it only grew stronger while they ate more of their ice cream. Eventually, they finished their bars and put away the sticks.

"Roxas..." Xion announced. "I'm out of time."

Both Roxas and Vanitas watched as she stood up and reached for her hood. She pushed it off, and the two boys' eyes widened and jaws dropped in shock. It was then that they noticed Xion's body build seemingly change in front of them, pretty significantly.

"Even if I'm not ready..." Xion's voice came out of the different face. "I have to make this choice. You have poured so many memories into me... given me so much..." She rested her hands together at her chest. "That I feel like I'm about to overflow. Look at me, Roxas. Who do you see? If you see somebody else's face... a boy's face... Then that means I'm almost ready. This puppet will have to play her part."

The two boys could only watch in shock as Xion's voice came from the face of the boy Roxas had seen in his dreams, a face that Vanitas hadn't seen in person in over a year.

"Roxas..." Xion's voice came out of Sora's face as she looked down at the blonde and smiled slightly. "This is him. It's Sora."

Roxas exclaimed slightly before Xion started walking forwards. To even further the shock of the two watching, Xion was walking right across on the air like it was stable ground. They stood up and watched, still in shock, as Xion stopped a few feet in front of them and put her hood back on. She turned to face them, specifically Roxas.

"You're next, Roxas," Xion told him, reaching out a hand for the blonde. "I have to make you a part of me, too."

"Don't you see?" she asked. She closed her hand into a fist and darkness and blue thorns started surrounding her in the air. "This is why I was created."

The darkness surrounded Roxas and Vanitas, blinding them both for a while. Vanitas tried running through the darkness, but ended up falling. The air released him, and gravity took effect, making him fall right to the ground in front of the clock tower.

Vanitas gasped as he got on his hands and knees. She disposed of him, which did actually make sense. She only apparently needed Roxas, so there was no use for him in a part of the master plan. Gripping his head, Vanitas briefly saw Roxas facing off against an armored Xion in three different worlds. Wonderland, Halloween Town, and Agrabah. The device they planted was one of three that the Organization set up to give her weapons specifically for fighting them. In Wonderland she had wings and a long sword, in Halloween Town she had a blade that looked like it had a claw attached, and in Agrabah, she had a big compartment around her giving her four blades.

Vanitas gasped as he got up into a kneeling position, sensing that Roxas and Xion were once again close. Gulping, he looked up into the air and immediately wished he was somewhere else.

Roxas had ran through the darkness in the air, and energy surged under him, reminding Vanitas of those times barriers went up closing them in with a boss. Roxas looked around in confusion, not getting what was going on.

"Roxas!" Vanitas called out, not even bothering to try to hide the fear in his voice. "Don't turn around."

So naturally, Roxas turned around.

The blonde exclaimed in surprise as he found a giant, armored version of Xion floating in the air behind him in front of the clock tower. Vanitas only just now realized the armor was designed like Sora. The armor looked like his clothes, and the helmet was similarly shaped to his hair, but with crazy looking, crown like designs leading up. Two long, yellow straps even flew up into the air from the collar for some reason, and there was a giant sword with Keyblade hand guards in each of her hands. Roxas looked up in shock as Xion exclaimed in a mixed voice, slicing her blades to the side in preparation.

"Told you," Vanitas called out once again, fear still in his voice.

"Now you'll see," Xion's mixed, modulated voice announced through the helmet.

Roxas was frozen for all of two seconds before his shock became determination and he summoned his Keyblade.

Despite everything, it was the most awesome yet heart wrenching fight Vanitas had ever had to watch. (You know, if he had a heartbeat.) Roxas ran forwards and started attacking with smaller combo attacks then usual before he had to block Xion's own attacks, which led to large shock waves on the ground he was standing on. He kept up the attacks until Xion eventually made her blades into an X as energy gathered in the long yellow straps.

"Is that all you got?" Xion taunted before beams shot out of the straps.

Roxas managed to block the beams with his Keyblade so they didn't do any damage. Xion then started slashing at Roxas directly with her blades, which Roxas dodged before moving on to get close to use his combos once again. After a few seconds, Xion made her blades into an X once again, and Roxas rolled out of the way as a dark orb appeared where he was just a few seconds earlier. He kept up the combo attacks while Vanitas pulled out a Desert Eagle handgun. He pointed the gun at the armored girl, to try to help... and the bullets fired only deflected off of the armor.

"Damn high quality armor!" Vanitas exclaimed with a pissed off growl before throwing his gun onto the ground.

He could only watch as Roxas charged forwards, jumping over a slash Xion made with one of her blades. Roxas rolled on the ground before lunging forwards in an attack. He swung his Keyblade, which was intercepted with Xion's other blade. But then Roxas took too long to make his next move, and Xion pushed him back with her blade. He backflipped on the magic ground before getting back onto his feet and charging once again.

Roxas ran in once again and performed another couple of combos before having to dodge her slashing at him with her blades, and the energy shooting out of the yellow straps. He managed to get in a few more combos, both on the ground and in the air, before Xion suddenly pressed her blades together with blue energy around them.

"Stop holding back!" Xion exclaimed before the energy shot out of the blades.

Energy started raining down from the sky onto the magic ground all around, so Roxas jumped up and started gliding around in circles in front of Xion to dodge the energy. After a few seconds of dodging, he flew directly at Xion, who jabbed her blade directly at him. Roxas dodged the stab, and slashed his Keyblade at her, which caused a big surge of energy, which caused quite a bit of damage.

As Roxas landed back on his feet, he saw in his friend's mind that his memory was deteriorating a bit. That last sunset that they had together, where Roxas had tried elbowing her a bunch, Xion suddenly became see through, confirming what Naminé was talking about involving the memory of her fading. Their words of "forever..." echoed before Roxas realized what was going on and jumped back in defense.

After blocking another dark ball, Roxas ran in to do a couple more combo attacks before he then had to dodge another dark ball. After dodging another one, energy appeared in the center of the magic ground, trying to keep him in place. Roxas immediately started gliding away from the energy, just as yellow light made a large circle in front of Xion.

"Get ready, Roxas..." Xion announced. She yelled out as she made light fly up from the giant circle.

"Whoa!" Vanitas exclaimed as he watched the energy keep flying up in an attack.

Roxas continued gliding, pretty much pressing himself against the barrier wall as the energy surged behind him, not even willing to look back at what was happening behind him. The light eventually faded, making everything quiet, which gave Roxas the indication that it was all right for him to stop gliding now.

Roxas then kept up his combo attacks before dodging once again as Xion slammed her blades into the ground he was standing on, causing shockwaves once again. Watching all this, Vanitas felt legitimately hopeless. From the looks of things, guns wouldn't work, and his rocket shoes were on the fritz again. And even if he could do a ball of fire big enough, what the hell could that do against _this_?

Roxas then stood in front of Xion, getting energy ready for him to start his Limit Break attack. He started the usual long attacks with energy around his blade as combo starters, finishing with the pillars of light shooting out. Once it ended, Xion's next attack with her blades causing shockwaves damaged him, providing him the chance to start another Limit Break. He did the magic fueled combo once again, once again ending with the pillars of light shooting out, doing quite a bit of damage, exclaiming, "Light!" as he did the combo finisher.

Vanitas had to admit, he would have been proud of how strong his friend had grown over time if one of their friends wasn't the one he was testing all these tricks out on.

He was driven out of these thoughts as Xion slashed her blades once again and Roxas jumped back in defense once again. The circle of light appeared once again, with Xion once again announcing, "Get ready, Roxas..." This time, Roxas was able to see what was happening, and watched in shock as the light grew around him. He looked up at Xion in shock, coming to the full realization that it was her doing this, and she was trying to do it to him.

Xion yelled out as she made the light gather in its biggest attack. The light grew at its brightest, blinding Vanitas on the ground for a few seconds. After a few seconds, the light started to fade, and he and Xion could see that Roxas wasn't in front of her anymore.

"No!" Vanitas exclaimed in distraught.

He was like that for two seconds before he and Xion looked up on her left above her to see Roxas floating up in the air, with his Keyblade ready. Once Vanitas got over his shock, he could see Roxas mentally preparing himself. Even from his distance far on the ground, Vanitas could make out "I'm sorry" in his friend's eyes, and he was sure his heart was wrenching at the sight.

Roxas then closed his eyes and twirled in the air before lunging down and slashing with his Keyblade in a finishing blow, landing once again on the magic ground as Xion dropped her blades. White energy started surrounding her as she grabbed her face while writhing around a bit. After a few seconds, light glared brightly on her head like something had broken, complete with light like glass shards flying through the air, and she started falling on her knees as darkness surrounded her once again.

Roxas and Vanitas could only watch as darkness and broken thorns appeared around her, which started to surround her body. Roxas dismissed his Keyblade, while looking down at her with wide eyes. He then gasped and grasped his head as light flared on the side of his head. Vanitas moved to where his friend was above the ground, just as the magic ground under the blonde started to give out.

Vanitas managed to catch his friend and eased him on his feet

"You all right?" Vanitas asked sympathetically.

"My head..." Roxas said, gripping exactly that. "Something's... gone..."

The both looked towards where the darkness was still surging where Xion landed. Eventually, the darkness and blue thorns opened up enough for them to see Xion, back with her appearance as a girl, stumbling through weakly. She fell onto her knees as Roxas and Vanitas started walking towards her.

"Who are you... again?" Roxas asked. "It's weird. I feel like I'm forgetting something really important."

"You have no idea..." Vanitas informed his friend, looking uneasily from Roxas to Xion.

"You'll be... better off now... Roxas," Xion weakly announced.

She started to fall forwards, but Roxas quickly caught her. He kneeled down with an arm around her protectively as what looked like pieces of glass started floating up from her. Vanitas gasped as he realized what this meant and kneeled down on her other side.

"You're... fading..." Vanitas gasped in sadness.

"Am I... the one who did this to you?" Roxas softly and guiltily asked Xion.

"No..." she denied. "It was my choice...to go away now. Better that, then to do nothing... and let Xemnas have his way. I belong with Sora."

She looked up at the glass shards that rose up into the air and disappeared.

"And now, I am going back... to be with him," Xion continued. She reached up with her left hand and grabbed Roxas's hand on her right shoulder. "Roxas... I need you and V... to do me a favor. All those hearts that I've captured... Kingdom Hearts... Set them free."

"Kingdom Hearts..." Roxas said in thought. "Free them?"

"We can do it," Vanitas announced, looking up at his blonde friend. "I'm sure of it."

Their attentions were then drawn to Xion's feet, where they watched in surprise as ice started surrounding her feet and cloak, growing shards that were pretty long. Roxas reached for them, not knowing what he could do, though.

"It's too late... for me to undo my mistakes," Xion informed Roxas. "But you can't let Xemnas... have Kingdom Hearts. You can't."

Roxas continued looking at her with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, still not entirely sure what was happening.

"Good-bye, Roxas," Xion told him with a sad smile on her face, getting his attention once again. "See you again. I'm glad... I got to meet you."

Vanitas didn't even take offense to the fact that she forgot he was there. He knew the real range of the two's feelings for each other, and that made this whole thing even sadder for him.

"Oh... and of course, Axel and V, too," Xion corrected herself. "You're all my best friends."

She took her hand off of Roxas's and placed it on Roxas's cheek in sympathy.

"Never forget," Xion told him. "That's the truth."

Once again feeling hopeless, Vanitas could only watch in sadness as Xion's eyes closed and Roxas's widened in realization. Her hand started to fall from his cheek.

"No!" Roxas denied desperately as he caught her hand. "Xion... who else will I have ice cream with?"

Vanitas was too sad to tell his friend that those were stupid last words to say to someone.

He could only watch with Roxas as the ice quickly covered her entire body, which then started glowing brightly in light. Roxas's eyes widened as the light grew brighter and the glass shards grew more plentiful as she continued fading. They watched in shock as orbs of light started following the shards up into the air from her original shape, which started growing smaller as more orbs flew up. She soon completely faded from Roxas's arms, and into the air completely.

The two boys looked down at where Xion was just moments earlier to see a single purple and green seashell, with a couple more orbs and glass shard that formed her body flying up into the air and disappearing.

"Xion..." Roxas sighed out as tears slid down his cheeks and onto the ground.

Vanitas wished he could join his friend in crying, because he had no other way to express his sadness at that moment other than just making a sad face. He then clutched his head as he got a plentiful of visions, both of present and past.

First, he saw the last few meetings between Xemnas and his subordinates, discussing what was to happen with Roxas and Xion. Apparently, they knew what was happening of Xion taking his powers. That was her original purpose. Use her to draw power from Roxas, and with the memories of Sora within, make her into a complete Sora clone, and with the aforementioned boy's memories in her, he'd never wake. She would have had to fought Roxas and either take what he had left to give, or he'd have to get it all back. Either way, the Organization would prevail because they had a good enough "vessel."

He then saw Axel in his room, wondering how this all happened before finding an envelope on his windowsill. Curiously, he opened it to find the WINNER stick Roxas had found such a long time ago, and he instantly knew who left it for him.

The last thing he saw was Xemnas in the Round Room, before Saïx appeared and announced that Xion was no more. Xemnas admitted it was probably for the best and ordered Saïx to get him Roxas back. The blue haired man let darkness surge around him as he disappeared from the room.

Vanitas gasped as the visions ended, and he saw that he was still there, with his friend, who was still crying over what just happened to the person her loved.

"This was their plan..." Vanitas announced with a cracked voice. "They made her to absorb your powers, to make her into a complete clone of Sora. Your fight just a few days ago was their attempt to make... this... happen prematurely. Either you had to defeat her and get back all your powers, or she'd defeat you and get everything else you had. All part of their fucking program to get some vessel."

He rammed his fist into the road they were kneeling down on, exclaiming "FUCK!" as his fist dented the concrete (?) they were on. Vanitas sighed out and looked at his friend in sadness.

"I don't know what we can do now..." he admitted.

A couple more tears slid down Roxas's face before he looked up once again, determined anger on his face.

"I do..."

* * *

Vanitas could make out, maybe twelve different ways this plan could go wrong.

It was the next day, and they used the backdoor that Roxas had shown him to get them back in the alley of the World That Never Was, as part of their new plan. They were gonna set Kingdom Hearts free themselves. Roxas was sure that it would lead them to Sora, and that would get them back Xion.

Vanitas had to admit, it wasn't the worst plan. There were just lots of ways it could go wrong.

Although, he also remembered where the pod room was, and since they were stationed in Twilight Town, he figured that the room had to be somewhere inside that mansion. But, neither of them knew what the mansion was like on the inside, so he was sure the process would end up taking too long for Roxas's anger to cope.

Plus, Xion asked them to set Kingdom Hearts free, anyway, so they were also fulfilling exactly what she wanted, which made it a win-win situation.

Besides, in the end, who was he to argue with a person who just lost someone he loved?

The two walked out of that alleyway where the portal was, with Vanitas already having the bandana over his face prepared for battle, and Roxas with his hood over his face. Roxas then continued to astound Vanitas by summoning two Kingdom Keys. As far as he knew, no one had ever before wielded two Keyblades at once without a whole lot of magical assistance from others.

His attention was drawn to the road in front of them as Neoshadows appeared all over. Roxas then raised his two Kingdom Keys up into the air to make an X, and they transformed into Keyblades that Vanitas remembered from his previous journeys with Sora. In Roxas's right hand he held Oblivion, and in his left he held Oathkeeper. Roxas lowered his Keyblades into a new battle stance while Vanitas followed his example and pulled out his katana in one hand and machete in the other.

They made their way down the alleys taking on nearly endless hordes of Neoshadows. Roxas fought with some of the most awesome attacks that Vanitas had seen, which included a standard combo attack using two Keyblades that ended with lunging forwards slashing with both blades, a slashing attack that took out everything around him, and sliding around and throwing the Keyblades into his targets that ended with a lot of slashes around him, taking out anything close enough. Vanitas almost felt inadequate as they made their way through the alleys.

They eventually reached the end, where Roxas added another attack to his already large plethora, where energy appeared around him in a circle, his Keyblades spinning in his hands, and orbs of light shot out into all enemies around him.

Well, not all enemies. As mentioned before, there was practically an entire army of Neoshadows there with them. Roxas had cleared the way towards the road on, but there was still a lot after them and between himself and Vanitas. The two managed to catch each other's faces, and nodded in mutual understanding. Roxas would keep going, and Vanitas would catch up once he finished these guys off.

_Boy_ , did it take him a while. He had to slash all around with his blades as the Neoshadows kept crowding in on him. After maybe a hundred slashes, dozens of blasts of fire, and more than a few stomps on downed Neoshadows, the alley was eventually clear, and he could follow Roxas.

However, the sound of footsteps on his right stopped him from doing exactly that. Looking around curiously, he noticed the sound originating from multiple directions instead of just beside him.

"Oh, Vanitas..." DiZ's voice called out from... somewhere. "You never did learn to not get in the way of things, did you?"

"Don't piss me off, DiZ!" Vanitas announced. "I just lost one of my friends, and I'm helping my other friend fulfill her dying wish."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Vanitas," DiZ said with fake sympathy. "But we are almost finished with our remaining experiments, and we can move on to much grandeur horizons. But... you can't get in the way of what's about to happen."

Vanitas looked to his right, sure the voice was coming from that direction. But then something surprised him by injecting a needle into the left of his chest and inject something before that person disappeared pretty quickly.

Vanitas rubbed the spot with his hand, but then chuckled at the realization.

"Sorry, DiZ," Vanitas called out with a little bit of cockiness. "But since my heart doesn't beat, that means it can't pump blood, so there's no way the morphine can spread."

"I know," DiZ's voice called out once again. "It was just a distraction."

The man then suddenly grabbed him from behind and forced liquid from a vial into his mouth, that was uncovered since the bandana fell during his fighting against the Neoshadows. The liquid fell down Vanitas's throat and he could almost feel as it slid down into his stomach. The instant drowsiness he started to feel confirmed to him what it was.

"Sleeping potion," Vanitas assessed, dropping his weapons and falling to his knees.

"You should tell your friend, Stark to improve his security system," DiZ suggested. "And then maybe not keep your extra stash of potions in an obvious place."

Vanitas slowly slipped out of consciousness as the potion took full effect, making him fall onto the ground as it continued to rain. Luckily, he was able to keep watch over Roxas through visions.

His blonde friend walked through the city with Neoshadows still appearing out of the ground all over. Roxas eventually stopped in the center of the plaza with the skyscraper with his Keyblades in his hand, and maybe hundreds more Neoshadows around him. He quickly went to work at slashing his Keyblades at the Heartless that approached him, taking them all out easily.

_The memory beyond_.

The Neoshadows eventually started lunging at him, so he jumped into the air against them. Roxas slashed at them in the air quickly and easily. At one point, he threw his Keyblade which flew through multiple Neoshadows above him before flying back into his hand. Roxas landed on his feet, then backflipped up onto the fountain between the steps leading up to the doors for the skyscraper. He looked out in front of him, where Neoshadows were pretty much filling the entire road. Some were even climbing up the side of the building to try to creep up on him.

_Something so simple._

Roxas looked up from his position on the fountain to see another figure, Riku, staring down at him expectantly. Roxas jumped up the sides of the awning then started running up the side of the building with Neoshadows following him. He slashed through all the Neoshadows that came in front of him as he started getting closer and closer to the giant flat screen near the top.

Roxas then pulled back his arm and threw Oblivion just as Riku jumped off the ledge. The Keyblade slashed through even more Neoshadows as it went up, and Riku caught it as he continued to fall. Riku gasped as he suddenly saw Xion in his head, but that ended quickly. He and Roxas ended up regarding each other as they passed in front of the giant screen, Roxas still going up and Riku going down.

Vanitas then saw a lot of flashes in his head involving Sora, Kairi, Naminé, Xion, the last time they hung out on the clock tower, and Axel gesturing as fire formed around him, all while Roman numerals counted down from 13. He started to think that DiZ had actually injected crack into him from that needle. Or crystal meth. In the flashes, Xion suddenly burst into blue orbs as the Roman numerals reached two, and Roxas flipped as he landed on top of the building.

Riku, in turn, landed and was immediately surrounded by Neoshadows. He gripped his head in pain, but let go once a Neoshadow lunged at him. He took it out quickly, while Roxas jumped off the top of the building. He landed on his feet a few away from Riku. Roxas then slashed his Keyblade around to show off, and Riku did the same thing. Roxas then jumped through the air and landed so he was back to back with Riku, facing the Heartless together. The Neoshadows then seemingly destroyed themselves while Riku kept a blank expression while he forgot most of his interactions with Xion.

The two Keyblade wielders then realized who the other was and turned towards each other. They jumped back away, and faced each other with about 15 feet of distance between them.

"Who are you?" Roxas demanded.

"What does it matter?" Riku asked. "I'm here for you."

"Why are you trying to stop me?" Roxas tried again.

"Because I want back the rest of Sora's memories," Riku answered.

"Sora!?" Roxas breathed out in silent rage. His rage became more audible as he exclaimed, "Enough about Sora!"

"Do you have some kind of plan?" Riku asked.

"I'll set Kingdom Hearts free!" Roxas announced. "Then everything will be the way it was! She'll come back... and the four of us can be together again!"

"You mean Xion?" Riku asked. "It's a struggle just to remember the name now... Either way, I can't let you go doing anything crazy."

"I'm freeing Kingdom Hearts, and I'm going to find Sora!" Roxas announced. "I want Xion back. I want my life back!"

"If you try and make contact with Kingdom Hearts, the last thing you'll get is your life back," Riku told him. "The Organization will destroy you."

"Enough!" Roxas announced.

He swung his Keyblade and started running towards Riku, and it was at this time the Neoshadows reappeared. Roxas blocked them and Riku's quick attacks as the silver haired boy swung the now blue blade in his hand at Roxas. Roxas then countered and started the usual wicked looking combo which caused quite a bit of damage. He then dodged out of the way as Riku sent multiple bursts of Dark Fire out of his hand at him.

Once he was done dodging, Roxas blocked as Riku tried attacking him with the once again blue blade, which succeeded and he used another counterattack. Riku then seemingly teleported quite a bit away and sent out more dark fire, along with one that slowly followed Roxas. Roxas managed to dodge all of these while slashing through Neoshadows that were still in his way after he went after Riku and did more combo attacks.

Riku then started attacking with the blade blue once again, which Roxas dodged by jumping up into the air. He managed to dodge the multiple orbs of dark fire that were slowly moving towards him as he ran to Riku and started using a combo to the fullest extent, before dodging the blasts of rapid fire dark fire once again. When he was a little distance away, Roxas blocked another set of fire, and used a counterattack which knocked aside the Neoshadows once again.

Roxas then ran in to attack with a combo once again, but was then surprised as Riku started to use lots of wicked slashes with his once again blue blade, doing quite a bit of damage until Roxas did a special spinning attack in the air to both knock aside a Neoshadow and stop Riku's attacks. Roxas followed it up by healing with Curaga and gliding to the side to dodge as Riku tried doing those attacks again. Once Riku stopped, Roxas lunged in and used another combo attack that went to the fullest extent, including wicked aerial attacks.

Roxas then ran and glided in arcs around Riku as he dodged more blasts from dark fire. He blocked one blast which got sent back into Riku, so he charged in and did a shorter combo attack. Once Riku then tried his many slashes again, Roxas blocked it, used the counter attack to knock him back again, then blasted Blizzaga and Thundaga, conveniently enough, the Thundaga blasted at the same time Lightning struck somewhere else in the sky.

Roxas then went after Riku while dodging attacks of dark fire. He got in close enough, but then Riku surprised him by starting the series of slash attacks with his blue blade. Once that ended, Roxas quickly retaliated with a long aerial combo then used Curaga to heal. Roxas dodged blasts of dark fire again, but then Riku started another attack that was very different. Two orbs appeared in the air with apparently a tractor beam, because Roxas got dragged between the orbs and had a lot of damage done to him before an explosion ended it by knocking him back. Riku taunted by going, "Is that all you got?"

After Riku appeared around him to blast dark fire, Roxas dodged all of them before attacking with a combo attack and blocked a couple of blasts of dark fire back at Riku to damage. Roxas then dodged a few more blasts of fire, one unsuccessfully, before knocking aside some more Neoshadows. He then followed Riku across the plaza and blocked with his Keyblade as the silver haired boy started his wicked slashes again. Roxas then followed it up with a long combo attack with both ground and aerial attacks, then followed it up with Thundaga.

After dodging a few more attacks, Roxas started another combo but Riku teleported away before Roxas could do the finisher. After Riku sent out multiple homing bursts of fire, he then sent out the orbs of energy again, which picked up Roxas once again in the tractor beam. Roxas ended up being dragged into the orbs once again, and the homing fire damaged him once again before knocking him back in the explosion once again. Luckily, he was able to retaliate with Thundaga, using Reflega to knock dark fire back into Riku, then used Curaga to heal himself.

Roxas then started dodging the Riku's attacks once again, and managed to stop two attacks of wicked slashes by blocking and retaliating, knocking him back. Riku then started launching out more homing fire before Roxas glided over towards the front of the skyscraper. He managed to evade the tractor beam attack completely before moving to the side and blocking Riku's set of strikes with a blue blade. Roxas retaliated by knocking Riku back, and into some of the homing fires to damage him.

Roxas then dodged two more blasts of dark fire before using a long combo attack before landing on the ground. He started blocking more slashes from Riku and retaliated with the counterattack, knocking him back once more. They repeated this in front of the skyscraper, blocking the attack and retaliating with a counterattack. After dodging a few more blasts of dark fire, Roxas did another long combo attack, but then was attacked with the wicked slashes and was knocked up into the air.

Roxas then decided to be smart and glided over Riku in the air, dodging the man's attacks and attacking on his own with Thundaga. Once he got back on the ground, Roxas attacked with a shorter combo before using Curaga to heal from his prior attacks. Roxas then started dodging the next few attacks including fire, but then got knocked into the air once again with the many slashes. Riku then teleported away while Roxas was distracted with the Neoshadows and healed himself. Vanitas made a mental note to kick whoever taught Riku Cure in the head.

Roxas dodged as Riku sent out normal fire and homing fire before starting the attack with the giant spheres once again, which he managed to dodge completely. Roxas then blocked more slashes from Riku before retaliating with his counter attack, knocking the man back. He followed that up with Blizzaga and Thundaga before running forwards once again. Roxas dodged more dark fire before starting a long combo attack, then moved out of the way. He even moved into a way that the next blast of dark fire hit the Neoshadows instead.

The fight was starting to seem unfair for Riku. Roxas dodged a few more blasts of dark fire before using another long combo. Roxas dodged more blasts of dark fire before Riku finally managed to get another attack in with his many slashes. Roxas glided away and healed once again, dodging once more by staying in the air as Riku did the slashes once again.

Moving on, Roxas glided over to the fountain between the stairs for the skyscraper once again. Riku disappeared again, and Roxas looked up on top of the building again, looking down at him with a still blank face. Roxas once again climbed up the awning and started running up the wall. Riku jumped over the edge as Roxas leaped up even more. Things seemingly slowed down as they passed in front of the giant screen. The two clanged their weapons against each other, and faced each other. Roxas then quickly went into an arc around Riku and smacked him strongly with Oathkeeper, knocking the man hard onto the ground below, finishing the fight.

Roxas landed on the ground on his feet and walked over to Riku. Riku was sitting on the ground with his hands holding him up, with Oblivion right behind him. Roxas stood over him, upset at him for already wasting so much of his time.

"Why!?" Riku demanded. "Why do you have the Keyblade?"

Roxas slashed Oathkeeper in front of him, and snapped, "Shut up!" He raised his Keyblade in preparation, but Riku quickly grabbed the Oblivion and slashed at him, knocking him backwards, causing Oathkeeper to fly to the side, and the hood to fly off of Roxas's face as he landed on his back a few feet away.

As Riku stood up and started to walk towards Roxas, Vanitas saw that he was once again seeing the last sunset they saw together running through Roxas's head, and he was sure that things were about to get even more sad than they already were.

Riku stopped and looked down at Roxas, who appeared to be unconscious. Oblivion still in his hand, Riku twirled around the Keyblade so it was backhanded and stabbed it into the ground next to Roxas. Riku gasped slightly in surprise as Roxas slowly pushed himself up and gripped the Oblivion, helping him sit up. Roxas then moved himself so he was leaning crouched down as he pulled the Oblivion out of the ground and slashed at Riku, who jumped back in defense.

Roxas charged at Riku, who shot dark fire out of his hand again, which Roxas slashed through before making another slash at Riku, which he dodged by side stepping onto Roxas's right. When Roxas tried side slashing at him again, Riku backed up with another jump, landing away from the attacking blonde.

"Why don't you quit?" Roxas exclaimed.

Riku paused for a second, before he got a slight smile on his face.

"Come on, Sora," Riku told him. "I thought you were stronger than that."

Roxas's anger was replaced with a look of confusion.

"Get real," he remarked, which quickly grew into anger once again. "Look which one of us is winning."

Even more confused, Roxas moved his hand up to his mouth and looked back up at Riku.

"So, it's true," the silver haired boy assessed. "You really are his Nobody. Guess DiZ was right after all."

"What are you talking about?" Roxas asked. "I am me." He summoned Oathkeeper to his other hand. "Nobody else!"

Roxas ran forwards with his Keyblades just as Riku started to start shooting out more dark fire. Roxas started an even more wicked combo attack than usual, knocking Riku around quite a bit, and not letting him get in an attack.

"Get over here!" he exclaimed as he swung his Keyblades once again.

Roxas started more combos and did attacks combining magic and normal attacks. This included stuff like Thundaga, Firaga, and Blizzaga, before doing even more wicked combos which caused even more damage to Riku, and once again stopped him from trying to start another attack.

"You're gonna be sorry," Roxas exclaimed before sliding around to start new attacks.

He did the standard two Keybladed combo attack, then slid in and threw his Keyblades at Riku in a mini combo with the finisher of the many slashes around him, then let energy gather around him and shoot orbs of light at his opponent while spinning his Keyblade. Once that ended, Riku was in front of him a few feet.

Roxas ran forwards and swung his Keyblades, which Riku dodged by moving behind him. However, Roxas then spun around quickly and side slashed at Riku with Oblivion, which broke through a barrier in front of him, so the Keyblade actually hurt Riku quite a bit. Riku exclaimed in pain as he slid across the ground in front of Roxas, clutching his chest in pain.

" _Riku, please!_ " Xion's voice projected into Riku's head as Roxas stood up. " _You have to stop him!_ "

"How many times do I have to beat you?" Roxas asked, still pretty pissed.

"All right," Riku softly announced. "You've left me with no other choice."

"What?" Roxas asked, confused, as he still stood in his battle stance.

"I have to release the power in my heart..." Riku announced as he stood up. He removed his blindfold during his next words. "The dark power that I've been holding back."

Roxas continued to stare at him with confusion as the blindfold fell onto the ground.

"Even... if it changes me forever," Riku decided.

Riku screamed out as darkness started to surround him and he rose up into the air. Roxas raised his Keyblades up and quickly moved them into battle position once again as darkness continued to surge around Riku. The darkness faded, and Riku was floating in the air with his body once again in the form of Ansem, complete with the shadowy minion behind him.

Riku then disappeared and Roxas gasped in surprise as he reappeared in front of him. The minion then grabbed Roxas's arms, and he winced at the giant fists started crushing him a bit. Riku floated up into the air with the minion carrying Roxas. Roxas exclaimed in pain the whole time before he gave into the pain and slipped out of consciousness, dropping his Keyblades which disappeared on the ground.

"I have accepted it," Riku announced in Ansem's voice.

Once again, Vanitas saw in Roxas's head the last sunset they shared with Axel and Xion. Only this time, Xion slowly faded out of existence until she was completely gone. He didn't remember her anymore.

Vanitas could only keep watching as Riku looked down at Roxas's prone form with a blank expression on his face.

_Then again, did that face even have emotions?_ Vanitas thought.

Riku then turned to the side and slid his hood over his head as a dark corridor opened and DiZ walked through. The two stood there for a few seconds as DiZ stared down at the unconscious form of Roxas.

"DiZ... he could feel Sora," Riku told him.

"Oh, he told you how he 'felt', did he?" DiZ asked. "Ridiculous. A Nobody cannot feel anything."

"If he had met Sora, things might have been different," Riku commented.

_Roxas, don't be sad_ , Xion's voice appeared in the unconscious blonde's head. _I came from you and Sora. I am you... the same way I am Sora. You'll forget me, but the memories themselves will never go away. Memories of you and me will always be together... forever, inside him._

Vanitas gasped awake as the sleeping potion finally wore off. He was soaking after spending so much time sleeping in the rain, and he didn't smell the best. He breathed in and out, pushing himself up as the effects of the potion was still wearing off.

The ravenette popped his neck before standing directly up and running down the road into the plaza. A dark corridor had just closed, meaning he was too late. They had taken Roxas.

Vanitas breathed in and out in shock before he saw another vision. Roxas was in a room with DiZ and Riku, with a lot of technology around. Roxas himself was still unconscious, laying against a wall with a weird looking contraption over him.

"Will it work?" Riku asked.

"If we can maintain the simulated town until Naminé finishes chaining together Sora's memories," DiZ informed him.

"What will happen to Roxas?" Riku asked, actually sounding a little concerned in his voice of Ansem.

"He holds half of Sora's power within him," DiZ reminded him. "In the end, he'll have to give it back."

DiZ turned from Riku and moved to the computer station.

"Until then, he'll need another personality to throw off his pursuers," he announced.

"Poor thing," Riku commented.

"It's the fate of a Nobody," DiZ informed him, sitting in front of the computer and pressing a few buttons.

Light appeared from the device and technological data surrounded Roxas in the circle he was sitting on. The data disappeared, and Roxas was gone.

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended. He looked down and shook his head at the realization of what was going on.

"No..." Vanitas sighed out in denial. "No... _No_..."

His sadness grew by the second, and he growled slightly as he exclaimed:

"Fucking hell!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, without a doubt one of the best episodes of the Timeline yet. They managed to incorporate so much for both the Roxas vs Xion fight, and the Roxas vs Riku fight in the most awesome of ways imaginable. Yeah, the Xion fading away scene gets me to tears every time I watch it, even nine years later. Hell, that ended up happening while writing this. I ended up needing to take a few minutes. Twice.
> 
> Although, the Riku fight ended up being one of the coolest moments in the series. Roxas was already my favorite character in the series, but when this fight happened in the game, it cemented it permanently. And seeing them do it for the Timeline in this way was even better than I could have ever imagined. Plus, the fight is awesome enough on it's own. Trust me, if I included Vanitas in it, I'd just end up fucking everything that made it awesome up.
> 
> I'm sad that we're pretty much at the end of the Timeline portion for Days, and we're pretty much at 2 next. Guess we'll be getting there pretty soon.
> 
> Oh, by the way, a Desert Eagle handgun is one of the more powerful ones. Play the Resident Evil games, you can blast a zombie's head to pieces with a single shot from that thing. If that's not getting through the armor, nothing Vanitas had would.


	30. Summer's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas is consoled by his friends, then makes one more attempt to try to help Roxas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always wonder why when they did duel wielding Roxas in the Believe part of the Timeline, they didn't use the move sets from duel wielding Roxas that you play as. They instead did the move sets from boss Roxas, which I guess can make sense, but I just feel like it would have been cooler to see hooded Roxas using those moves we played as in 2
> 
> Anyway, I hope you kept the tissues. This one doesn't have a happy ending

After about five minutes of wishing that he could feel so he could cry properly, Vanitas said "to hell with it," and used the Vortex Manipulator to arrive back at Earth 616, in his bedroom. Naturally, that caused JARVIS to get angry, so when Tony and Bruce ran in, they were only about half surprised to see that it was Vanitas.

He explained everything that happened to them with his voice cracking in sadness more than a few times. They were a little confused when he told them about Xion, which made sense since they couldn't remember her anymore. Vanitas had to guess that it was his life force being gone meant he was now the only one who could remember Xion. Great. He was the only one who could be sad about the fact she was gone now. Fantastic.

Vanitas was able to see Roxas's progress in the "virtual town" through his visions. Apparently, DiZ had arranged him to be in the town with the memories of being friends with the kids he had met here, Hayner, Pence, and Olette. This apparently had a slight connection to their hearts and the hearts of the other residents in the data town, which was more than confusing. But, part of the process meant Roxas thought he was an ordinary kid on an ordinary last few days left of summer vacation, all while Naminé finished fixing Sora's memories.

Every night, Roxas had memories about Sora, specifically the first journey he went on with Donald, Vanitas, and Goofy. Vanitas guessed this was along the system of the memories going back into Sora... or something. He didn't entirely understand it all.

Apparently, they had also been found by the Organization, because Nobodies appeared in the digital world when they shouldn't have. Roxas's first day, a Dusks stole photographs of Roxas around town, so Roxas destroyed it and returned the photos to their rightful owners. The second day, they raised 5,000 munny to go to the beach, but Riku stole the pouch (dick move, dude) because DiZ couldn't make a beach for the digital town. The third day, they were gonna try the beach trip again when the Dusks reappeared, and Roxas was forced into his own Dive to the Heart where he had to fight lots of Nobodies before being helped by Naminé. Then, the town had it's big Struggle tournament before Nobodies froze time. Roxas fought off some Dusks before Axel showed up and they had to fight. Roxas won the Struggle tournament and won a four crystal trophy, but Riku stole the blue crystal while Roxas ended up briefly connected to Kairi. Once again, Vanitas ended up wondering what puberty was doing to his friends, because after about a year, Kairi was much taller and had a much deeper voice.

Vanitas sighed out as he walked into the dining room to the table for breakfast, pretty much exactly how he had been doing for the last year he had been on this world. The vision he saw the previous night showed that Roxas and them had tried figuring out the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town, some of which ended up being related to Nobodies sneaking into the world, which he never noticed.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Tony asked, sympathy in his voice.

"Who the hell knows?" Vanitas asked blankly, looking down sadly.

"Aren't you gonna try to help Roxas?" Bruce asked.

"And how the hell am I gonna do that?" Vanitas asked, still blankly. "I barely know the place they're in. It'll probably take me forever to find where they're holed up, and by then... It'll probably be too late."

"You never know that," Tony assured him. "Maybe they haven't... I don't know, made Sora absorb Roxas back into him or something."

"Probably not how it works," Bruce commented.

Vanitas gripped his head as the usual vision started. The digital world had pretty much failed for Roxas, and he was stuck in there with the Nobodies and a now angry Axel, who had been instructed to destroy Roxas if he didn't come back to the Organization, even though he didn't remember what was going on. He was then instructed by DiZ to go to the mansion because "the time has come." He got there and met Naminé, where he got back some of his memories of the Organization, and that he was a member.

Vanitas sighed out as the vision ended. He reached for another bite of waffle, and both Tony and Bruce were surprised.

"You're really just gonna stay here?" Tony asked.

"What's the point?" Vanitas asked. "There probably isn't anything I can do to help. I don't even know where to start looking in that spooky ass place, oh, and the Vortex Manipulator is just about dead, so I don't even know if I can reach it."

"Yeah, but, V..." Bruce said. "When's that ever stopped you?"

Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"V, you had no life force, memories, or powers, and had nine years of rage rampage in you when you went on your first journey with Sora," Bruce reminded him. "When you joined that journey, all you had was melee weapons, guns, a pissed off attitude and some spell books. Yet, you helped them stop the darkness from spreading, and helped us save the world here during the Battle of New York."

"Then you helped out at Castle Oblivion," Tony added. "You had pretty much the same weaponry but no homicidal tendencies, and you managed to take out the talent team of the Gay man and his Bitch, saving Naminé."

"After that you helped out Thor against the Dark Elves," Bruce continued. "You guys worked together and defeated that Malekith dude, and saved all Nine Realms."

"And that's not even mentioning the stuff over the last year," Tony added. "You've helped Roxas take out hundreds, maybe thousands of Heartless that were pretty huge. And you guys even helped out the old man and Birdman stop Pierce from turning millions of people into Heartless. V, you're stronger than you think."

"And if you can't do anything to help Roxas," Bruce pointed out. "Then the least you could do is be there so he can see one more familiar face. Before..."

Vanitas took in their words with a slight nod of the head. He sighed out and stood up.

"You guys are right," Vanitas decided. "I can still go and try to help him. And if not... like you said, I can be there for him."

He checked the battery of the Vortex Manipulator.

"0.441%," Vanitas announced. "That's about enough for one last jump to Twilight Town."

Tony and Bruce nodded their heads at the implication behind Vanitas's words. The ravenette then went to his bedroom and grabbed the collectibles he stored in there, along with some stuff he planned on taking with him. He slid it all into his sling which he slung along his back as he walked back into the dining room, with Tony and Bruce standing at the table waiting for him.

"Well..." Vanitas started. "I guess this is it."

"Hey, don't be so glum," Tony assured him. "Sure, we don't know when we'll see each other again, especially with how wonky the distance between worlds is, but that doesn't mean you're gonna be gone forever."

"Yeah," Bruce agreed. "Knowing how things are out there, there's a chance we're probably gonna see each other again pretty soon."

"Well," Vanitas said, smiling at his friends. "Here's looking forward to the next global disaster that brings us together."

He held out his hand.

"It's been a pleasure, gentlemen," Vanitas announced.

Both Tony and Bruce simultaneously raised an eyebrow at Vanitas.

"Oh, fuck it," Vanitas decided.

He rushed forwards and grabbed the two in a hug, each of his friends in an arm. The two scientists complied and hugged him back with slight smiles on their faces, remembering his one claim about not being one for physical contact.

After a few seconds, Vanitas reluctantly parted from his two friends and pressed the buttons on his Vortex Manipulator.

"See ya around, Science Bros," he told them.

"See ya, Crazy Hair," Tony said with a smile as Bruce waved.

"I actually prefer Scarface," Vanitas admitted with a sigh.

Tony and Bruce laughed as Vanitas disappeared in a flash of light one more time.

"I'm gonna miss him," Bruce admitted.

"So am I," Tony admitted. To lighten the mood, he joked, "Where are we gonna get as willing of a human lab rat as him?"

Bruce laughed before they got a message alert.

"JARVIS, what's up?" Tony asked.

"Maria Hill on line one," JARVIS informed him.

"Patch her through," Tony told him.

He picked up a screen and a video conference between him and Maria Hill started.

"Miss Hill, what can we do for you?" Tony asked as Bruce watched.

"Mr. Stark, I've been trying to get in touch with you for weeks," Maria informed him first.

"Yeah, sorry, we've been a little busy," Tony admitted.

"I hope you're not too busy for this," Maria remarked. "I assume you've heard of Vanitas Jordan's friend, Roxas?"

"Yeah," Tony confirmed. "Nobody that doesn't have a heart. Vanitas just went to rescue him."

"Well, that claim was partly right," Maria informed him. "We ran a diagnostic on him at the insistence of one of our doctors. When we did a full body scan on him, we actually found a heartbeat in him."

"Wait, what?" Tony asked, confused.

"It was faint," Maria admitted. "Seemingly hidden with some form of advanced magic that only the advanced machine was able to pick up. But there was definitely one there."

"But... that doesn't make any sense," Tony remarked. He looked at Bruce. "All those Nobodies claim that they don't have hearts."

Bruce thought about that before coming up with something.

"Maybe they don't when they start out," he thought aloud. "Maybe when they are first 'born,' they don't have hearts. But that doesn't mean always. Maybe they eventually grow back their hearts, but after so long of not having them, they just don't remember what they feel like."

Tony nodded his head as he took in Bruce's theory.

"That actually makes sense," he told his friend. He furrowed his eyebrows. "And that advanced magic that hides it from them... maybe Mansex cast it so they'd have no choice to follow his orders. But if they all can just grow back their own hearts..."

"Then what the hell does Xemnas want with Kingdom Hearts?" Bruce finished the question for him.

"We need to tell Vanitas Jordan all about this," Maria Hill announced.

"Yeah, that's the bad part," Tony admitted. "He just left to save Roxas, and his Vortex Manipulator is pretty much dead."

"You're just about twenty seconds a little late," Bruce admitted.

Maria's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped as Tony sighed out.

"Man, he has bad timing. If only we finished those communicators..."

* * *

Vanitas appeared in the Woods outside of Twilight Town with his Vortex Manipulator, remembering how the Mansion was outside the woods. After he reappeared in the flash of light, electricity flared around his Vortex Manipulator for a few seconds, before it dissipated and the screen went completely blank. The device burned out.

Vanitas sighed out as he realized that meant he was stuck on this world now. Pushing that aside, the ravenette ran through the woods, seeing visions of Roxas once again in the digital town. First, he realized the truth about who he was as he reached the data town's version of DiZ's lab, then smashed apart DiZ's computer with his Keyblade. This made Vanitas suddenly glad he never introduced him to internet porn.

It moved on to Roxas running into a new chamber where he fought off some Nobodies before Axel reappeared. Axel made fire surround them as he prepared for a fight, and Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion as Axel summoned his chakrams.

The vision ended as Vanitas came out of the woods and reached the area in front of the walls for the mansion. Unsurprisingly, Riku stood in his way.

"You can't come any further," Riku told him with the voice of Ansem.

"Get the hell out of my way," Vanitas snapped.

"That's not happening," Riku told him. "You already know that there's no other way for us to do this."

"That's what you say," Vanitas remarked. "But this... it can't be it. There has to be another way."

"You looked for one," Riku assessed. "And did you find one that worked?"

"Well... no," Vanitas admitted. "But that doesn't mean there isn't one. Come on, Riku, you've seen what's out there. There has to be another way. There just _has_ to."

"Sorry, V," Riku told him. "You know there isn't. This is the only option we have left. This is..."

"You think Sora would be proud of _this_!?" Vanitas snapped angrily. "You gave into the darkness and now you look like that evil motherfucker we already killed. You basically talked a girl into killing herself, and the guy she loved who loved her back had to watch her die in his arms. And now, you've kidnapped someone I consider a really good friend, and you're gonna kill him, too, to help wake him up. You really think that when he wakes up, he'll be happy you did all of this for him?"

"I know he won't," Riku admitted. "That's why I don't plan on seeing him once this is done. My way to protect him from the truth."

"You're his best friend," Vanitas reminded him. "He sees you as a brother. You really think once he's up, he won't want to look for you?"

"I know he will," Riku admitted. "That's why once this is done, I'm leaving. I already have Mickey prepared to help him and the others once this is done, and I was hoping..."

"Nice sentiment," Vanitas interrupted him, still angry. "But thing's aren't gonna be 'done'. I'm gonna help Roxas."

"And I can't let you do that," Riku told him.

"I wasn't asking," Vanitas remarked.

"Then this is on you," Riku announced.

Riku summoned his sword and stood in his battle stance.

"No," Vanitas announced, pulling out his machete and baseball bat. "It's on you."

Vanitas ran towards Riku and immediately smacked him with his aluminum bat, before blocking Riku's sword strike with his machete. Riku then lunged forwards with his sword strike, which Vanitas moved out of the way of. The hooded man then surrounded himself in slash like energy, which Vanitas dodged before Riku sent out multiple orbs of dark fire. Vanitas blocked the orbs by surrounding himself in a sphere of fire before running right at Riku again.

Riku slashed his sword multiple times at Vanitas, some actually doing some damage and knocking him back, but Vanitas quickly retaliated with the machete and bat. He moved the sword to the side with the machete before jabbing the bat right into his stomach. Riku then disappeared from sight and reappeared behind Vanitas, and the ravenette quickly cartwheeled out of the way as Riku blasted a larger orb of dark fire.

Vanitas twirled around to face Riku, throwing his bat right at the taller man. The bat hit him in his shoulder, knocking him back a bit, so Vanitas charged forwards. He and Riku then slashed their blades at each other, with each of their attacks intercepting the other, so they weren't able to hurt each other for a little while. As they reached a point where their blades were together in the air, and they stayed like that for a second, Vanitas decided to be smart.

Vanitas grabbed Riku's sword with his other hand and pushed both of their blades to the side. He then kicked Riku in the stomach, and luckily his super strength acted up because it knocked him back a bit, causing him to let go of his sword. Vanitas tossed the sword aside and Riku tried blasting more darkness at Vanitas, like he did on the bridge at Beast's Castle. The ravenette slashed through the darkness and charged at Riku, similar to what Roxas had done earlier in the week.

Vanitas reached Riku and swung his machete at the taller man's head, which he ducked under. Riku then punched Vanitas in the face and blasted him directly with dark fire. Vanitas backflipped away to recover from the blast, and Riku re-summoned his sword.

Riku charged at Vanitas and swung his sword a few more times, which Vanitas dodged with more cartwheels and backflips. Once he got close to his bat, Vanitas picked it up and knocked it into Riku's sword strongly, knocking it to the side before Vanitas kicked him once again, knocking him into the wall serving as a gate to the mansion lawn. The ravenette put away his weapons as he walked to the similarly weaponless Riku.

"You know," Vanitas announced, angrily. "The last time someone took my friends from me, I went on a nine year murder rampage to try to get back at them. This time, though, they're right in front of me!"

Riku got on his knees and tried punching upwards at Vanitas. Vanitas caught it with his left hand before twisting Riku's arm slightly. He kicked Riku in the chest, then picked him up and slammed him into the ground, which did look a little weird since Riku was a lot taller than Vanitas at this point. Vanitas then kicked Riku hard, knocking him into the wall once more, which made the hood fall down. Riku's affected face of Ansem helped fuel his anger as he pulled out a Firestar M43 handgun and pointed it right at Riku.

Riku gasped slightly at the gun being pointed at his head, but he put up a hand in reasoning.

"Let's be realistic here," he announced. "Sora helped you find yourself again. I mean, there's no way that you would actually shoot..."

Vanitas cut him off by shooting his other hand that was resting on the ground. Riku cried out in pain as Vanitas coldly pointed the gun right back at his head. Riku put his right hand over his wounded hand and looked up at Vanitas desperately.

"V!" Riku begged back in his normal voice. "Please..."

Vanitas wanted to. He _really_ wanted to.

But then he looked into Riku's eyes, and for a few seconds, they were exactly that: Riku's eyes. Not Ansem's, like the rest of him. At the sight of that, Vanitas's anger faded, and after a few seconds, he turned the safety back on on his pistol. Riku sighed out in relief as Vanitas slipped the handgun in the wrap around his waist to serve as a holster.

He then decided to be nice and pulled a Potion out of one of his pockets, which he tossed to Riku. Riku caught it with his okay hand and pulled the top off before downing the Potion. The hole in his hand where the bullet went through disappeared, leaving some blood and holes in his glove as the only evidence it ever existed.

"Thank you," Riku breathed out, back in Ansem's voice.

"Get the fuck out of here," Vanitas instructed as he started walking across the yard to the door.

"V," Riku called back out, stopping the ravenette in his tracks. "I don't want Sora to see me like this. Please, once he wakes up... don't tell him about this."

Vanitas thought about that for a second. Riku was right, if Sora knew about this... well, who knows how the hell he'd react? It would make sense to not tell Sora, but looking back on their track record, wouldn't he just end up finding out on his own somehow? He shook his head, mentally agreeing with Riku's mindset. Some things, you just shouldn't tell sometimes.

"I'll think about it," Vanitas told him cryptically as he walked to the doors.

Vanitas entered the mansion, finding a pretty abandoned room. He went around the place, trying to see if there were any secret entrances anywhere. He found it in the second story library, where a staircase led down to the metal walled room. Pulling out his handgun, Vanitas went down the stairs and found himself in the room with DiZ's computer and the weird contraption that put Roxas in the digital world.

DiZ himself was at the computer, looking down at a few things. Vanitas walked up to him from behind and pointed his handgun right at the man's head, taking the safety off.

"Take him out," Vanitas ordered, blankly. "Right now."

"I am afraid I cannot do that," DiZ informed him. "He has already fought against the Organization and is interacting with the data based projection of myself in Sora's pod room. Momentarily, he will willingly give back what he has."

"You can't just use him as a tool for part of your revenge..." Vanitas told him. He then cocked his head to the side. "...Master Ansem."

DiZ looked up in slight realization and turned to face Vanitas. He simply shrugged off the gun pointed at his face and looked directly at Vanitas.

"How long have you known?" _Ansem the Wise_ asked.

"I figured it out the last time we met," Vanitas told him. "When you tried to make me give you back the Vortex Manipulator. I saw in your head that you were determined to get your revenge against Xehanort, so your next best option was Xemnas. And there's only one man I knew that would have this kind of anger towards Xehanort: the man who the son of a bitch stole research and his very name from: you."

"Very perceptive, my old apprentice," Ansem admitted. "But you don't really intend on shooting me, do you? You are Vanitas Jordan, the youngest Keyblade Master in history. You..."

"Vanitas Jordan is gone!" Vanitas snapped. "And you're left with me! And I will end you, and your entire conquest for revenge if you don't let. Him. _Out._ "

"Vanitas, be reasonable," Ansem told him sympathetically. "We don't have any other way for Sora to awaken than for Roxas to return to him. I know he's your friend, but we have no other options."

Vanitas closed his eyes and looked down.

"I can't accept that," Vanitas denied.

"Too bad," Ansem commented.

Vanitas looked up with another frown, not noticing Ansem press a button on a pad on his forearm. The man disappeared in a flash of light, and Vanitas's eyes widened at what just happened.

"No," he denied. "No..." He grew angrier by the second. " _No_!"

Vanitas raised his gun to the computer in anger, but then that'd be a mistake since Roxas was inside the digital world. Instead, he pointed his handgun at the parts of the walls that were bare and yelled in anger as he shot the gun at them. He kept firing his gun at the walls until the gun clicked empty. He then threw the gun at the wall, still yelling in anger.

Vanitas breathed in and out as he looked from the walls to the computer system. Recognizing the systems slightly, he sat in the chair and pressed the right buttons. He couldn't get himself into the system, but he could hopefully send a data based projection in after Roxas. Pressing a few keys, Vanitas activated what looked like a microphone, and set one screen so that it'd be the eye sight of the projection.

The data Vanitas appeared in the pod room with Roxas. Roxas had his Kingdom Key in his hand and was looking up at the open pod to see the sleeping form of Sora. At the sound of data processing, Roxas turned around to see Vanitas standing there.

"V!" Roxas greeted in surprise.

"Roxas," Vanitas greeted his friend.

"How..." Roxas started to ask.

"I used the computer to send out a data based projection into the town," Vanitas explained. I can see you and talk to you, but we can't actually touch."

"Well, we never really touched that much before," Roxas told him, and they both smirked. After a few seconds, Roxas dropped the smile and looked up at Vanitas. "V..."

"You can't do it," Vanitas told him, desperately. "There just _has_ to be another way."

"You know that there isn't, V," Roxas told him. "This is the right thing to do."

"So the right thing is for me to lose another one of my friends?" Vanitas asked.

"I don't like it any more than you do," Roxas admitted. "But... you've done it before. You can do it again."

"Maybe," Vanitas admitted. "But I don't want to do it again. I've been through enough hardships in life, and I'm done with having this happen to me."

Roxas nodded his head.

"I get that," he told his friend. "But, look at it this way... I might be gone, but I'll still be with you. I'm returning to Sora..." He looked up at the sleeping brunette, then back at Vanitas. "So as long as you're with him, then in a way, you'll still be with me."

Vanitas looked up at the sleeping form of Sora. His brunette lookalike had also grown significantly in the last few months. He was now around Vanitas's height, so that the red jumpsuit and jacket he was wearing were now much smaller on him, and his hair had changed on its own to match Vanitas's in shape and spikes. Vanitas smiled slightly at his still sleeping friend.

"Well..." he said softly as he looked back at Roxas. "There's a nice train of thought."

Roxas nodded his head at Vanitas, then turned and walked back up to the open pod. Light started to originate from Sora, which grew closer and closer to the blonde. Roxas looked over his shoulder at Vanitas and offered a slight smile.

"See you, Vanitas," Roxas said as the light started to cover him.

"Good-bye..." Vanitas said with a cracked voice. "Brother..."

Vanitas watched on the screen as the light covered Roxas, signaling how he was returning to Sora.

With how sad Vanitas was, he almost didn't notice that for the first time in over a decade, a tear grew under his eye and slid down his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Vanitas, I took dialogue from the first of a trilogy of episodes of Doctor Who that also make me cry, and I haven't even seen them yet. The last three episodes of Series 9. Like I've mentioned like, 27 times, I'm a massive Whouffle shipper, and I incorporated that to Vanitas. It legitimately makes me sad to just think about what happened to them.
> 
> Well, I'm a little sad that Roxas's storyline from Days to the beginning of 2 is now finished. He definitely is my favorite character of the series, and his story is such a sad one throughout those games. At least this isn't gonna be the last time we see him. That'll give me some comfort as we go through 2 after this. Well, after I do something else...


End file.
